Essay on "God's Grandeur"

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. As he goes into an intense description of nature and its originality and characteristics, Hopkins retrieves the attention of the reader and holds it hostage as he paints a picture with his powerful words.

Hopkins intentions are very apparent in his technique: his rhyme scheme, his diction, and the way he makes his words flow together. 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. 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. It will always be a representation of an omnipotent God and his sentiment. The author writes with a confidence in his words in this poem. It shows that he has no doubt, which makes the reader analyze his writing at a more intimate level. People think that because he is so certain and so unwavering 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. Even though the author’s dialogue is sharp, it still presents flow. The words are sharp individually, but when pieced together as a part of the puzzle of this poem, they flow very smoothly into a poem that is intonated like a lullaby. As the author goes into a depiction of nature, he uses similes that are not so 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, an important staple in the economy, and 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 the rhyming and repetition in the first stanza is harsh-sounding, which represents the speaker’s frustration directed at people in this economy. 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 go back to its origins and soak up the magnificence of nature. Because people have been ignoring 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 corrupted by being ignorant of its basis. Sin and evil have made their way into the world and have spread throughout wreaking havoc and corrupting everything they touch. 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 harsh. 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 and will not agree with the ideas that Hopkins presents in his writing. His claims and assertions are written with such fervor that people may disagree so much and cause an uproar. It is beautiful only to some: 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. This, however, cannot be attained if everyone is on a different level. Because our society has been corrupted and dirtied, 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 conflicting 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.