Depression in To Seem the Stranger, Fell of Dark, Carrion Comfort, and No WorstI believe that we can observe a gradual deepening of depression throughout Hopkins history. so-called terrible sonnets. The poems I intend to look at will show this, starting with "To seem the stranger is my lot", "I wake and feel the darkness falling", "Carrion Comfort", "No worse, there is none”, and finally “My own heart lets me have more pity”. The first of the poems above shows the beginning of Hopkins' descent into depression. This is followed by "I wake and Feel...", depicting Hopkins descending further into depression. The depths to which Hopkins sank are shown in "Carrion Comfort" and in "No Worst, There is None". Following this, "My own Heart..." represents the beginning of a climb out of depression and towards a more stable state of mind. Although the order of the poems is set by the editors of the different collections, I believe that the order above is the order in which they were written, based on their content. The symptoms of the early stages of depression, that of paranoia, apathy and feelings of isolation are recounted in “To Seem the Stranger Is My Lot”. Although in some cases these feelings are the result of a mental imbalance and have little or no relationship to external reality, in Hopkins' case it would appear that his feelings of isolation are, to some extent, meaning, valid. Following Hopkins' decision to become a Catholic, he was rejected by his family. This would then explain his bitterness: Dear Father and Mother, brothers and sisters are not close in Christ and he my peace my separation, my sword and my conflicts. To appear the stranger lies my fate, lines 2-4. This bitterness he feels about the gulf that now exists between him and his family is expressed in the irony of Christ being both the bringer of peace and the cause of "the sword and strife." The paranoia common in the early stages of depression also expresses itself: Only the wisest word my heart begets the disconcerting ban of dark skies or the fate of hell foils. All the sounds show the frustration of not being allowed to write his poetry. He transfers the decision of his Jesuit superiors to “ban” his poetry to being that of God himself..