The nature imagery in each of these groups is closely connected with Hopkins' poetic theories of inscape and instress. These seven poems of poignant beauty are Hopkins' expression of the terrible sufferings of the spiritual 'nights' in which the only source of hope is God's mercy. The 'terrible sonnets' celebrate God's power, His justice and His mercy. In the poetry of praise, Hopkins uses nature imagery to express one consistent theme, or 'underthought'- the grandeur of God and man's consequent duty of praise.

Three groups of poems exemplify nature imagery as a unifying element in Hopkins' poetry: Hopkins' simple nature poetry, his poetry of praise, and the 'terrible sonnets.' In his simple nature poetry, Hopkins, by expressing his concept of the beauty of nature, allows the reader to share this vision of beauty with him. Special attention will be given to the discussion of the 'terrible sonnets' whose nature imagery may be said to synthesize the anguish of soul which prompted the poet to write these sonnets. By a thorough investigation of Hopkins' use of nature, it attempts to show that nature imagery constitutes one of the major unifying elements of his poetry. This thesis attempts to go beyond these generalities. Some of these critics have discussed the nature element in HopkinsвЂ™ poetry but, generally, they have considered the nature imagery as one of the less important elements of Hopkins' work, confining their criticism to general statements, or limiting their discussion to one, or to a very few, of Hopkins' poems. Since 1930, critics have given wide attention to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

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