Themes in To Seem the Stranger

Suffering in God's Service

Serving God is unconditional to a true Christian: believers do it whether they enjoy it or not, though they need to consider first whether they are prepared to pay that price. The trouble is, the cost cannot always be predicted. Only now is Hopkins realising the full extent of the cost he is committed to paying in order to do what he feels God is asking of him: being lonely, exiled and unheard. He can only make the complaint. He is baffled as to where the answer may lie.

Investigating To Seem the Stranger
  • Does all this make religious commitment seem unattractive? Or is all commitment rather like this, including marriage or even the teaching career?
    • Does Hopkins' poem appear to make his religious commitment unattractive?
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