Literatures of Stress: Thermodynamic Physics and the Poetry and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins Thomas Mapes

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English 5-11-2015 Literatures of Stress: Thermodynamic Physics and the Poetry and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins Thomas Mapes Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Mapes, Thomas, "Literatures of Stress: Thermodynamic Physics and the Poetry and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/134 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LITERATURES OF STRESS: THERMODYNAMIC PHYSICS AND THE POETRY AND PROSE OF GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS by THOMAS MAPES Under the Direction of Paul Schmidt, PhD ABSTRACT This dissertation examines two of the various literatures of energy in Victorian Britain: the scientific literature of the North British school of energy physics, and the poetic and prose literature of Gerard Manley Hopkins. As an interdisciplinary effort, it is intended for several audiences. For readers interested in science history, it offers a history of two terms – stress and strain – central to modern physics. As well, in discussing the ideas of various scientific authors (primarily William John Macquorn Rankine, William Thomson, P.G. Tait, and James Clerk Maxwell), it indicates several contributions these figures made to larger culture. For readers of Hopkins’ poems and prose, this dissertation corresponds with a recent trend in criticism in its estimation of Hopkins as a scientifically informed writer, at least in his years post-Stonyhurst. Accordingly, this dissertation presents readings of Hopkins’ poetry and prose in light of developments in Victorian energy physics. Three claims span the chapters pertaining to Hopkins’ oeuvre: First, that Hopkins’ distinctive terminology of stress and instress expresses the energetic relations between objects. Second, that Hopkins’ metaphors and analogies are unusual in that they often signify literal relationships between things compared, particularly when metaphysical forms of stress or instress are likened to physical forms of energy. And third, that in Hopkins’ writings the natural world and the supernatural order of creation are contiguous, and that energy suffuses both. INDEX WORDS: Nineteenth century literature, Victorian literature, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Thermodynamic, Interdisciplinary, Physics LITERATURES OF STRESS: THERMODYNAMIC PHYSICS AND THE POETRY AND PROSE OF GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS by THOMAS MAPES A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2015 Copyright by Thomas Lawrence Mapes 2015 LITERATURES OF STRESS: THERMODYNAMIC PHYSICS AND THE POETRY AND PROSE OF GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS by THOMAS MAPES Committee Chair: Paul Schmidt Committee: Leeanne Richardson Randy Malamud Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2015 iv DEDICATION For Lisa. And for Carrie, my co-co Christa. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Georgia State professors for their knowledgeable and patient instruction over the too-many years that I have been a graduate student here. First and foremost, special thanks to Dr. Paul Schmidt, who introduced me to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and whose support made it possible for me to continue as a student and to complete this dissertation. Dr. Schmidt is my model of what a professor should be. His classes never fail to instruct and delight, and his counsel and friendship have encouraged so many of his students, including me. When Newman devised his idea of a university, his idea of a professor must have been inspired by someone very similar to Dr. Schmidt. I also wish to thank Dr. Leeanne Richardson. As her student, I have been consistently impressed with her energy, and the care and pride that she takes in her scholarship, teaching, and personal relationships. I particularly thank Dr. Richardson for her attentiveness to her students’ work, and for her consistently insightful and conscientious written responses to papers and presentations. It is always a pleasure to read her feedback, and her responses to this dissertation have sharpened the present instance of it and have given me ideas for the future. Likewise, as her subeditor at the South Atlantic Review, I appreciated the freedom she allowed me in my work balanced by her interest for my work. Special thanks to Dr. Randy Malamud, who graciously stepped in as my third reader halfway through this dissertation. He promptly read the chapters I had written previously, and thereafter returned feedback chapter by chapter as I completed them. His diligence and supportive criticism greatly aided me through the middle and final stages of the project. My thanks to the many others among the GSU faculty. Along with Dr. Schmidt’s and Dr. Richardson’s stimulating classes, Dr. Michael Galchinsky’s teaching enticed me to specialize in vi Victorian literature. As well, Dr. Galchinsky introduced me to the structuralist criticism central to chapter four, and helped me to narrow and define the focus of this dissertation. He also provided insightful feedback for chapter two. Dr. Wayne Erickson helped me to improve my writing, and I take his enthusiasm for students, poetry, and poetic form as a model for my own pedagogy. Likewise, I am mindful of Dr. Stephen Dobranski’s superb Milton classes, and his careful responses to my written work. To my family, my gratitude for your love, patience, and – not least – your endurance. Particular thanks to Lisa for her longsuffering forbearance as I laboriously typed for too many hours too late at night. I owe her many hours of watching Carrie. Few spouses would be as patient as you have been, and for that especially, and for everything else you are to me, my endless thanks. To my mom and dad, many thanks for the confident support, the Sunday meals, the lodging on Sunday nights, the good conversation, the Scrabble competitions, the space and time for family fun. Above all, thank you for your consistency and faithfulness, and for establishing a loving home where your children and grandchildren can grow. And finally, to Carrie … daddy’s finished! Let’s go play. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v 1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Energy Science in Victorian England ................................................................. 5 2 STRESS AND STRAIN: RANKINE’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SCIENTIFIC REGISTER ....................................................................................... 23 2.1 Science and Social Uplift ................................................................................... 29 2.2 Stress and Strain: The Scientific Register in Development ............................ 33 2.2.1 Strain in Chemical Literature ...................................................................... 36 2.2.2 Strain and Strength in Engineering Literature ........................................... 46 2.3 Stress, Strain, and Enegy Science ..................................................................... 54 2.4 Summary ............................................................................................................. 63 3 STRESS AND STRAIN: ENERGY SCIENCE AND HOPKINS’ POETICS ..... 64 3.1 Review of Scholarship ........................................................................................ 69 3.2 Group versus Individual: Hopkins’ Theory of Language .............................. 81 3.3 Hopkins’ Definitions of Stress ........................................................................... 90 3.3.1 Stress as Force .............................................................................................. 91 3.3.2 Springs, Wells, and Watches: Stress as Inherent Force ............................. 96 3.3.3 Slack Ropes and Dis-stressed Selves: Stress as Force of Formal Unity... 103 3.3.4 Flushing and Foredrawing: Stress as Ontology........................................ 112 viii 4 METAPHOR VS. METONYMY: HOPKINS’ FIGURES OF STRESS ........... 121 4.1 Metaphor, Metonymy, and (Meta)physics ..................................................... 123 4.2 Structure of Metonymy: Form and Function ................................................ 131 4.3 Hopkins’ Metonymical Metaphors: “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” .............. 153 4.4 Outstress and Energy: Hopkins Integrated Cosmos ..................................... 169 4.5 Summary ........................................................................................................... 191 5 HELL IS ENERGY: SCAPES, INSTRESS, AND HOPKINS’ ENERGETIC MODEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS .......................................................................... 192 5.1 Review of Scholarship ...................................................................................... 195 5.2 A Meditation on Hell: Hopkins’ Mechanical

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