Essay on God's Grandeur: AFTER PICTURE

In the poem “God’s Grandeur,” written by Manley Hopkins, the author speaks with a tone of appreciation, which transitions into repetition and monotony. The author then ends with a sense of rejuvenation. Hopkins’s goal is to enlighten the reader to peoples’ ignorance of how amazing nature really is and what it represents. As he goes into an intense description of nature and its originality and characteristics, Hopkins retrieves the attention of the reader and retains it as he paints a picture with his powerful words.

Hopkins’s intentions are very apparent in his technique: his rhyme scheme, his diction, and his syntax. His rhyme scheme in this poem is “abbaabba” for the first stanza and “cdcdcd” for the second stanza. His poem could be considered an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet because it is fourteen lines long and is separated into two stanzas: the first stanza containing eight lines, an octave, and the second stanza containing 6 lines, a sestet. The octave suggests a frustration or trouble, while the sestet solves it and trades frustration and confusion for relief and joy. The problem presented in the first stanza is the under appreciation by mankind of God’s beautiful creation and works. People are ignorant and selfish, and the world overlooks the beauty and significance of nature. They “have trod, have trod, have trod” but have not paid any attention. However, in the second stanza, the author concludes that even though nature is abused, it never becomes anything less than what it truly is. It will never become less beautiful or incredible. Nature retains its “freshness,” and will always be a representation of an omnipotent God and his sentiment.

The author’s words display confidence in this poem, which shows that he has no doubt. This makes the reader analyze his writing at a more intimate level. He is so certain and so unwavering that he must have knowledge of what he speaks of, and there must be some truth to his words. “God’s Grandeur” is a very convincing and captivating display of affection for nature and its origin. Nature is described as having “greatness” and is “never spent.”

Even though the author’s dialogue is sharp, it still presents flow. Each word is individually harsh, but when pieced together as a part of the puzzle of this poem, they run together very smoothly into a poem that is intonated like a lullaby. In this poem, alliteration is put to use through assonance and consonance, which is similar to many lullabies. Also, words are repeated, and the poem has a calm sound throughout. Lullabies use the same techniques to put children to sleep. They are very repetitive and use a lot of alliteration, with a tranquil sound.

All this rhyming and repetition in the first stanza is unexciting, which represents how persistently the speaker is frustrated with the people in this society. As he says “generations have trod, have trod, have trod,” he seems to be saying that time is repeating itself, and it is getting dull and dreary. It is time for society to return to its origins and revel in the magnificence of nature. Because people have been blind to the innocence and purity of nature, they have become dirty, as Hopkins presents by saying “bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell…” Society has become corrupt through ignorance. Sin and evil have infected the world and have spread throughout, wreaking havoc and corrupting everything they touch.

As the author goes into a depiction of nature, he uses similes that are not attractive to the reader. He illustrates nature as having “greatness, like the ooze of oil.” Oil is not a substance with great value when it comes to appearance. It does not shine or sparkle or strike the reader as beautiful. It is, however, vital in the economy. The world could not thrive without it. This supports the idea that success and wealth is more important to mankind than the natural splendor of creation.

All that was once pure has now become impure, with the exception of nature. Nature is the only true survivor with purity spread throughout. Its purity cannot be altered or changed because it is the direct work of God, and it stands holy and beautiful in its place. The author points back to this as the foundation on which people should build their lives. In nature “lives the dearest freshness…warm…and…bright.” Nothing manmade can compare the natural brilliance of God’s creation. In the second stanza, the author’s rhyming is not so boring. It is, instead, bright and joyful. It makes the reader feel the cheerfulness in the author’s tone.

This poem is a good representation of a well-written, belief-based argument. Certain people may not agree with the ideas that Hopkins presents in his writing. His claims and assertions are written with such fervor that people may disagree to the point of an uproar. It is beautiful only to those who hold the same opinions and ideas in their hearts. Cooperation as a society and a community as a whole is needed to proceed with Hopkins’ solution to our problem of a corrupt society. However, this cannot be attained if everyone is on a different level. Because our society has been corrupted and soiled, the purity and innocence that it once held will never be regained.

Hopkins poem “God’s Grandeur” is a very influential and powerful work. It is intimate with nature and with God. It is encouraging others to be intimate with God and his creation, also. Because it does this, it is a persuasive essay wrapped up into a poem. It uses good persuasive techniques and language, but since it is such a debated topic, it is a hard point to argue. Hopkins argues it very well, however. He achieves his goal of captivating his intended audience, and he engraves his point into people’s hearts and minds forever.