Rough Draft

Gavin Banks
Pro. Hageman
English Lit
13 October 2008
God’s Grandeur
The poem, “God’s Grandeur” written by Gerard Manley Hopkins touches upon many aspects of human existence on the Earth and their relationship with God and nature. There can be many different outlooks on the meaning of this poem. I feel that the main concept of this sonnet is that mankind has become increasingly unaware of the presence of God on Earth and unappreciative of nature’s beauty. Each line has a specific meaning with its own identity that differs from person to person. By analyzing each line, the conclusion can be made that Hopkins is commenting on mankind’s lack of appreciation for God’s creations on Earth and nature’s beauty.
Hopkins starts out his poem by saying, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God”. I interpreted this as the world is alive with God’s greatness. Charged often refers to electricity or something being revitalized, awakened. Hopkins is saying that God gave life to the planet. He continues on by saying that it will shine like “shook foil”. When things are charged and electric, they are vibrant. Shook foil is bright and shiny so he is using the foil to show that the world is shining from the work of God. God has created things that are so beautiful and amazing that they shine and radiate. The creations are so amazing that it they can only be created by the almighty God.
As the poem goes on, Hopkins integrates mankind. “Crushed, why do men now not reck his rod (Hopkins)”. At first, I wasn’t sure what “reck” meant. I looked it up online and found it to be the abbreviated form of recognize. After finding that out, I figured that Hopkins is asking why mankind doesn’t recognize God’s work. The poem was written in 1918 which was around the time of WWI. There was so much pain and suffering that many people didn’t take the time to take in the beauty around them. With all the death, the most seen to that extent, it can be easy to overlook nature’s gorgeous surroundings. Hopkins’ didn’t want people to be jaded by the darkness around them. He is saying that there is such obvious evidence of God’s work, that people should recognize it. It “shines like foil”. The next line, “Generations have trod, have trod, have trod (Hopkins)” is a very dramatic line that emphasizes mankind’s drudgery through life. By repeating “have trod”, it plays on the idea of an endless march, so lacking in energy and joy. The repetition makes the reader almost bob their head in an up and down motion, like someone trudging along. When Hopkins says that “all is seared, bleared, smeared” he is saying the planet has been damaged by all the work that mankind has done to it. Industrialization, urbanization, and pollution are all ruining the world. Wars destroy families, cities, and landscapes. “Seared” relates to burning or scorching. People burn the land for farming and construction. They willing destroy the creations of God, “searing” it away. The words “bleared and smeared” convey images of blood being smeared around. By having the words rhyme, he is showing how they all relate to each other. Man has replaced the natural world by destroying the land and urbanizing it. The pollution and industrialization has replaced the world’s “smell” with its own. Even the soil is bare now because man has stripped the land. They wear shoes so that they can’t feel the ground. They aren’t in touch with nature and that’s why Hopkins’ says “nor can foot feel”. People in the past and even in recent times like Native Americans, were more in touch with the world and lived off the land. Society has become so artificial and unnatural that many people wouldn’t survive in the wild.
Hopkins continues by saying that “for all this, nature is never spent”. He is saying that even though there has been so much damage done to the planet and pollution created by man, the world is still in tact. He is commenting on the fact that man can come and go, but the world will always be there. The planet has been around for billions of years and realistically, men have only been on the earth for a blink of the eye. There has been a world full of life before man and there will be one after man. When he says “and though the last lights off due black west went oh, morning” he is talking about a renewal or regeneration of life. Then he says, “the holy ghost over the bent world’s broods with warm breast” evokes the feeling of warmth and care, as if God himself is watching over the world. Many bird’s watch over their nest of chicks with care and protection. It compares God almost to a mother bird. He says “bright wings” as if God is like a guardian angel.
Hopkins’ poem “God’s Grandeur” evokes many ideas on mankind and God. He shows how much the world ahs been changed by the presence of man’s “toil”. They don’t appreciate all that God has done and created and have lost their connection to nature. He is almost warning people to realize God’s world and to take care of the planet for the short time that they inhabit it.