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Felix Randal by Gerard Manley Hopkins - Poem Analysis
A Short Analysis of Gerard Manley Hopkins's 'Felix Randal'

Felix Randal poem line by line analysis

Felix Randal‘ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is a sonnet separated into two quatrains, sets of four lines, and two tercets, sets of three lines. The sonnet conforms to the traditional Petrarchan rhyme scheme, ABBAABBA, for the first eight lines, then diverges slighting in the last six, rhyming CCDCCD.
The speaker of this poem is generally considered to be Hopkins himself.
Hopkins knew, befriended, and delivered the last sacraments to an ironsmith by the name of Felix who was a member of his parish. This ironsmith passed away from what was most likely pulmonary tuberculosis.

The poem begins with the speaker describing Randal as a large man made from a “big-boned” mold. His body had decayed over time from an unnamed illness caused by the “Fatal four disorders,” or humors, fighting within his body. This sickness “broke” him and he cursed himself for acquiring it. The speaker was able, by anointing Felix, to cure him for a time, but God had other plans.

The final three lines describe how as Felix was about to pass on, and immediately after he was gone, no one celebrated his life as a farrier like they should of. He was the strongest of his peers and crafted the shoes for the strongest of the horses. This is the memory that the speaker leaves the reader with and the one he is hoping will last.