‘The Hound of Heaven’ by Francis Thompson:
(A Theological Reflection and Contemporary Analysis)
Fr Joby Kachappilly VC (Copy Right: The Author)
Introduction: Francis Thompson (1859-1907) is known as a religious and mystical poet.
The personal life of Thompson was mixed with the bitter taste of catastrophes such as failure
to become medical doctor or a priest, and finally, he was an addict to drugs and alcohol. He
almost became a destitute with a physically ill condition. Despite all these painful struggles,
it is said that Thomson neither failed to pray nor gave up his faith. The intervention of
Meynell brought him back to the poetic artist to bloom up again. The Hound of Heaven was
written during this stay with Meynell and family who helped him to enter a Capuchin
monastery in Wales1. All the the New poems written in this period reveals the Christocentric
liturgical revelations of the church. Thompson enjoyed an acclaim as “Romanticist of the
Catholic Revival”2. His poem ‘The Hound of Heaven’ is considered as a masterpiece among
the religious and mystical poems for its spiritual exuberance and poetic brilliance which was
highly appreciated even among the non-Catholics as well as in the secular circles. This could
be one of the reasons, that twenty five years after his death, in 1933, The New York Times
judged the tribute then paid to him as equal to those ordinarily paid only after a century3.
The classical richness and the depth of inner beauty is visible in ‘The Hound of Heaven’ not
just in the allegoric expressions or rhymes of the poem, but of the mystical imagination that
pierces the inner soul entangled in the world.
A very personal reading of the Poem ‘The Hound of Heaven’ has deeply inspired me to see
the Merciful face of God in pursuit of my own soul in spite of my sinfulness. It is
enlightening to know God is in search of man with His unconditional love. In this paper,
more than a scientific study of the poem, I would like to enumerate the insights and
reflections revealed in it’s close reading. Man is God’s own image. Sinful pursuit of
happiness has distorted this image. Nothing in this world can ever bring happiness or beauty
to his soul than God Himself.
The Hound of Heaven: A Thematic Reflection
1 Frank N.Magill Ed.By, Masterpieces of Catholic Literature, (New York: Harper & Row Publishers,1965),
712
2 Ibid,
3 Ibid,710
2
The poem is composed of 182 lines. It can be divided into five parts. In the first section, lines
1-53, it speaks of the flight of the soul in search of pleasure. Second section 74-83 depicts
the escapism of the soul from the Divine eyes. Lines 84-110 reveals the reality of the worldly
pleasures that distances man from God; lines 111-160 depicts the hopelessness and struggle
of soul in return to the Divine love. Lines 161-182 shows the persevering and compassionate
love of the heavenly Father that wins over the human search of happiness.
A Theological Reflection and Poetical Revelation
The Soul reviving poem, ‘The Hound of Heaven’ is a mystical presentation of the divine
initiative in search of human soul caught up in the worldly pleasures. The poem begins with
a cry “I fled him…I hid from Him and under running laughter”. The 8th line – “From those
strong Feet that followed..” reveals the Divine movement towards the lost soul with a
determined Will. The words ‘Strong Feet’ ‘Deliberate speed’ ‘Voice beat’ shows the mercy
of God which reaches far beyond the human comprehension to redeem the lost soul with a
compassionate heart and passionate love. It is said to be a reflection of Thomson’s own inner
life in connection with God, the Father but ever relevant to each human soul. Thomson points
out how much ever one tries to hide or being hidden, ultimately, it is a betrayal of God
Himself – ‘All things betray thee who betrayest Me’. It reminds me the journey of the
prodigal son in the Gospel where it says, “…he went to a far distanced country…”(Luke
15:13). Similar temptation of human life is visible in this poem as it says, ‘Across the
Margent of the World I fled…’. The soul in this poem is trying to seek help of world to
protect him from loosing its charm, ‘I said to dawn…Be sudden ..eve – be soon...heap me
over from this ..Lover’. It shows a wilful act of a pleasure seeking mind of the soul that loves
to hurt Him being deaf to the “Feet” and “the Voice beat”. The Divine voice is clear –
‘Nought shelters these who wilt not shelter me’. Because sinful soul can never have
fellowship with God that beckons happiness from this world however beautiful they seem to
be– ‘Come then…share with me...let me greet you lip to lip…’ Ultimate beauty is from God
and of God. The word repeated in the poem – ‘I knew..’, ‘I laughed’, ‘I triumphed’ show the
pride of a soul in absolute deafness and blindness of the unreal joy of this world. The Poem
tells the grief of the soul, at the same time, but not truly converted – ‘In vain my tears were
wet on Heaven’s grey cheek’. Human soul to experience real inner joy has to truly turn to
God biding farewell to the worldly pleasures as earthly joy is temporary.
3
The poetical beauty lies here that brings a supernatural truth with few words and
transcending the thoughts of sinner into a higher world. This realisation is slowly penetrating
the soul as Thomson points – ‘Nature…can’t slake my drougth..sky – ‘show me the
tenderness...Never did any milk of her bless me..’. Amidst this chaos of mind, the soul still
heard the sound of “Feet.. and Voice” which said – ‘Lo, nought contentst thee who content’st
not Me’. Thomson brings this twist of Divine voice to show God is omniscience and all
knowing, even hidden thoughts of a soul. Perhaps that could be the reason the soul in this
poem in soliloquy whispers; ‘In the rash lusthead of my young powers..I shook the pillaring
hours…with heavy grief so overplussed’. Here, the soul even slowly realises the worldly
affair was equal to dust as soul feel absolute emptiness in all these at cries –“my heart is as
a broken fount’…As the soul looks in with deep sigh above, finds a God whose long pursuit
is winning over his soul. Though an awareness of unworthiness blooms in the heart of the
soul worldly, yet the gentle call of the Hound of Heaven – ‘Rise, clasp My hand, and come’
‘Halts by me that football…Shade of His hand’ gives hope to the hopeless. The poem ends
with the call of real ‘Beauty’ that beckons the soul to experience it far beyond the world –
‘Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He whom thou sleekest! Thou dravest love from thee
dravest Me’. Anyone who is united with God, becomes a source of true happiness.
Contemporary Review and Relevance of the Poem
The human mind is always in search of Happiness. It can be temporal or transcendental. In
the pursuit of worldly pleasures, man becomes a victim of weakness and frailties that prevent
the Divine touch of life. Whereas, in search of Divine love, deprived of the worldly affairs,
human being chose the path of ascetical or mystical life. In the first case, God comes in
search of man. In the second case, man goes in search of a God. The meeting point of both,
the divine - human initiative can be called the nucleus of God experience. The ‘Theophany
of God’ in the creatures and created worlds reveals the unfathomable as well as the merciful
love of God. The Holy Bible is the story of the Divine initiative to reach out to man, stained
with sin and stilled by the savagery of worldly pleasures.
Thompson presents in this poem, a God who hunts the soul with all efforts to retain it. We
see a similar parallelism in the story of the prodigal son who wandered and squandered
everything he had as his birth right (Luke 15: 11-32). On the realization and return of the
son, we see a father who runs towards the son to restore his life with all its splendour.
4
Thompson reveals the mystery of God’s mercy and the human nature oriented towards sinful
pleasure. It is truer than man is incapable of saving himself recover from its wretched state.
He needs the grace of God. God’s grace is moving towards each one in ways known and
unknown to us. The life of St. Augustine gives an example of inner revelation of the poem
of Thompson. Augustine was searching for love and pleasure allured by lust and beauty in
friendship, and material things. But, Augustine clearly tells in ‘Confession’ that God had
been speaking to him in different ways and his ears were deaf to that divine initiative. It is
evident that God was running after St. Augustine like a hunting dog to save him. This poem
reveals the supernatural truth that nothing in this world can satisfy the human soul as it is
indelibly marked with the fingerprints of God’s creation. The U turn or return to God is a
Divine must for the experience of everlasting joy and happiness. The poem reveals “God
sees everything and we can hide nothing from His eyes”. All we can do is in humility
surrender to the mercy of God. God never fails in his pursuit, though we fail to reach out to
Him. The beauty of this poem is revealed in the compassionate heart of the Father, who is
patient with our downfalls and ever ready to erase its stain with the Divine forgetfulness. It
reveals a ‘reverse mysticism of God’ who is in all effort search of human soul for spiritual
union. God is never tired of us. This poem is leading us to God. As St. Thomas Aquinas said,
“the poet’s task is to lead us to something virtuous by some excellent description”4.
It shows the psychological tendency of human nature to escape from God so as to enjoy its
own pleasures. In today’s world, we see a consumerist and epicurean culture trying to find
its happiness in the material world. Thompson’s poem depicts the materialistic world with
all its fascinating charm beckoning and alluring the innocent souls even in today’s world.
The addiction of drugs, smoking, pornography, etc. is just sparkling examples. The real
happiness and beauty can experience in God and in connection with God. St. Augustine in
“Confessions” writes, ‘Our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee’5. The poem, Hound of
Heaven is a story of “Spiritual In carnation” into the human soul and a “Divine celebration”
of human soul.
4 Paul Murray OP, Aquinas At Prayer: The Bible, Mysticism and Poetry, (London, Bloomsbury Publishing
Plc,2013), 178.
5 The Confessions, Trns.by Edward B. Pussey D.D., (Washington Square Press: Newyork, 1962), Book I.1
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