Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

God's Grandeur

Good Essays
558 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
God's Grandeur
Gerard Nanley Hopkins' poem "God's Grandeur", illustrates the relationship connecting man and God. Hopkins uses alliteration and stern tone to compliment the religious content of this morally ambitious poem. The poem's rhythm and flow seem to capture the same sensation of a church sermon. The diction used by Hopkins seems to indicate a condescending attitude towards society. The first stanza states that we are "charged with the grandeur of God", or the direct quality of God's being. This statement begins to express the overall feel or idea of a lecture by stating that society will be held accountable for its actions. Hopkins exhibits his lack of faith in humanity by stating that God's quality will "flame out" on the account of mankind. He feels mankind will be "crushed" while attempting to bear this burden. He then asks why mankind is not attentive to God's right to rule. The question proposed, changes the final tone of the last stanza from judgment to curiosity. The second stanza reinforces Hopkins' idea concerning the capability of mankind with undertaking such an enormous commission. He states that "Generations have trod, have trod, have trod" (Hopkins 880). This verbal repetition emphasizes the importance of our generations past; that we have destroyed much of the Earth. The diction used in the second and third lines of this stanza seems to illustrate a furious rant by Hopkins. He states that we are guilty of Earth's pollution and destruction and that society has grown calloused to this fact. Hopkins' diction in this stanza seems to portray a very negative mood; he does this by using words such as "bleared", "smeared", and "smudge". All of these words create a dark visual image for the reader. Hopkins states that "All is seared in trade" (Hopkins 880). This can be viewed as a possible metaphor for mankind's selfish ambition and greed. He also feels that society experiences a form of desensitization towards the devastation of the land by stating, "The soil is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod" (Hopkins 880). Hopkins' final reflection conveys the apocalypse and the return of God. The application of the words "dearest" and "freshest" in the third stanza suggests a very light and joyous mood. He states that even though mankind destroys the Earth, God will still continue to provide for his people, "And for all this, nature is never spent" (Hopkins 880). Hopkins now speaks in a tone of reassurance. The diction that Hopkins uses seems to exemplify the forgiving nature of God and describes a very harmonious setting. Hopkins accomplishes this setting by incorporating very positive, uplifting words and being very descriptive. In the final line of the poem, "Ah!", seems to indicate a response of surprise to seeing God return with his "bright wings". Throughout the poem "God's Grandeur", Hopkins creates a wide range of emotions by using descriptive detail. The first stanza seems to cast judgment and blame on society; the second stanza reiterates this idea with many examples. Both the first and second stanzas present the impression of a preacher's stern lecture. The last stanza in the poem seems to reinforce assurance, revealing God's mercy and his return. "God's Grandeur", seems to sway society to emulate God and take heed of the repercussions of our lifestyles.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Alliteration is used to describe the particular place in the second stanza with “sleek coal caves” which shows the reader where Harry worked and how he visioned the setting. The use of onomatopoeia in the third stanza is also used to describe the place of the mines with “the shovels rattled the earth” gives the reader sound and images of the mines when they were all of a sudden abanded. The imagery throughout the fifth stanza represents the fast, approaching death on harry though his surroundings on the farm. “kangaroo bones with pocked skin and maggot bubbles of flesh edge the house and yard” provides the reader with a vile image of harry’s farm in which he spent the later years of his…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Essay on 'Everyman'

    • 311 Words
    • 1 Page

    This play suggests a means to salvation as Everyman enters the kingdom of heaven by performing good-deeds; and that death comes to everybody. Everyman has to clear his book of reckoning before he can progress to heaven, and one of the things the play considers is how humans will be judged after they have died. God is furious that humans are living a superficial life on earth, focusing on wealth and riches, without worrying about the greater judgment that is to come - and, notably, Everyman's own judgment - his ability to understand his life - becomes gradually more and more enlightened on his…

    • 311 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Countee Cullen’s poem “Yet Do I Marvel” is a poem with unsubtle religious themes. It questions the goodness of “God” and asks why His cruelty is necessary, or if what He does is cruel at all. Cullen goes on to then question the purpose of himself, or another unknown black poet, and why he was made the way he is. He uses a few different examples to illustrate God’s unusual cruelty, and while at first glance they may seem random, all three share the same theme, a theme that is extremely important to the complete meaning of this poem. “Yet Do I Marvel” shows the conflict between how God is portrayed and what He actually does. The poem also asks the incredibly relatable question, “Why am I the way I am? And should I be?”…

    • 1885 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gray explores humanity’s blindness towards society’s corruption and lack reflection of the consequences brought upon by urbanization. The aesthetic of myopia is used as a reoccurring motif across the whole poem to carry out the allusion of blindness and lack of clarity and reflection. “ now the distant buildings are stencilled in the smoke.” The smoke alludes to pollution, lack of slight and clarity, Creating an unclear and hazy image of man-made infustructures, suggests that the pollution created by humanity is covering our own view of human society and civilisation’s greed and selfishness enabling us to see the truth in the situation and cause a lack of enlightenment.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In his sonnet, Cullen uses strong themes of religious metaphors while adding many non-religious metaphors at the same time. The continuing theme throughout the sonnet is the mysteriousness of God, and how He is unwilling to share the secrets of the universe by answering the speaker's questions. Cullen begins with stating that his belief in God is that God is good natured, "I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind," (Line 1). The first line briefly makes your mind question the sentence while you experience the starting of the theme. Using different metaphors, Cullen vividly expresses his confusion of what the purpose of his existence is and why God does what he does. "And did He stoop to quibble could tell why / The little buried mole continues blind, / Why flesh that mirrors Him must some day die," (Lines 2 – 4). In these lines, Cullen clarifies his position with God in stating that his questions are but "quibble" to God, thus putting himself far below God. Cullen uses the metaphor of the mole to represent how he is blind to the reasoning of God's actions, while at the same time questioning God of why a little mole continues to live blind. In the next line, Cullen uses a biblical metaphor when mentioning "flesh that mirrors Him" as it is in the bible that it states "God created Adam in His image." Cullen refers this flesh to be humans and questions God for the purpose of death. Using these…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    However, even though there may not be a direct link to the war in the stanzas, Thomas may have created war-like subtext inside the stanzas. For instance, "with grass growing, instead of the footsteps of life" could suggest that once a family lived here, long before the war, the house was full of life, however, due to the poem saying "instead" it can lead the reader to believe that now the war is taking place, it is destroying families inside their homes and leaving nothing but the grass to grow, the only life left in the house is a plant that can grow and spread quickly, much like a virus. Also, within the stanza, Thomas uses imagery to create a better picture in the readers' mind. For example, "outmoded, dignified, dark and untenanted" suggests that what was great is now crumbling, with all the life it once held has gone, leaving it "untenanted", however, due to the war, it remains "dignified" because of how the inhabitants may have died in the war. This can also be linked back to the previous stanza, wherein Thomas writes that the "war began to turn young men to dung", this could mean that the bodies of the once living are now fertilising the fields and how war destroys and kills everything, it kills them, but…

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Owen wrote this poem to express the damage done through war towards the humanity of the soldiers and men involved; he evokes empathy in the readers using techniques such as war imagery and personification.…

    • 658 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crossing the Swamp

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The entirety of the poem is a metaphor of a man's crisis in life. The first part of the poem, or until "into the black, slack," is dark. This portion depicts the darkness's of life, such as death and the hard ships. The third stanza mentions "…here/ is struggle, / closure --/ pathless, seamless / peerless mud… "which is a reference to life. Life is full of struggles like the struggles one would have trying to cross a swamp. There is no clear path or a person aiding you while you cross the mode, as there is no one to help you through the "hipholes, hammocks" in life. The mans' "… bones / knock together at the pale / joints …" which shows that the man's struggles in life have been long and tedious. The struggle has been so lengthy that it has even begun to wear on the bones and joints in his body. Imagery is used to give the readers feeling of disgust and sorrow. Words such as "mud," "dark blurred / faintly belching bogs" give a negative connotation and make people think of darkness, specifically, the darkness's in life.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beach Burial

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the third stanza, Slessor use somewhat of a metaphor with driven stake of tide wood, in order for us to see that the soldiers who fought for our country are merely like a piece of drift wood in the sea. This shows how the soldiers were treated in when they died at war. As there was no place for them so they dropped the brave service men in the water with “bewildered pity and they lose their identity.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odyssey Study Guide

    • 2292 Words
    • 10 Pages

    1. What does the invocation (the first 13 lines) say the poem as a whole will emphasize?…

    • 2292 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Transcendentalist Beliefs

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages

    He is explaining that man is equal and should be these things instead of waiting for another man to perform his job. He is trying to expand on his thought of human, nature, and God are all joined together with one…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some examples within the lines create scenes for the audience which may come off as harsh or even downright combative. The first stanza acts as a host to an early example of the descriptive imagery used by the narrator. The line, “Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone” is powerful due to the mental picture it constructs (line 8). The picture that materializes is one of an “everyman” that must almost “survive” the change, lest he or she drown in it by not being active. To include imagery that implies join or die, the message starts to become more crucial and worthy of concern. Strong imagery can also be seen in the third stanza where the “everyman” must take a stand against the politicians. The line, “There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’ / It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls”, implies that this conflict is a violent one that requires resolution (lines 25-26). Between this battle imagery and the “join-or-die” imagery from before, one could envision a much grander conflict that seems war-like in comparison. Imagery can often be quite effectual in writing in deriving the deeper meaning behind the words. In recall, imagery was used to illustrate the harsh struggle for change.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the second stanza, lines six, seven, and eight illustrate blood, as it is “smeared into a map” (6); metaphorically the map signifies that the world is a site of violence. The profuse use of blood in this stanza expresses the idea that violence is a part of every given civilization. Simic describes this blood as “great” and big, paralleling it to great continents and bodies of water which one will find on a map. Consequently, an image of an apron saturated in blood is engraved into the readers mind, which clues them to a great deal of violence.…

    • 517 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    God's Omnipotence

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Some people refer God as the Omnipotent, that is to say a being that has unlimited power, and is able to do everything. God has four different attributes, he is omniscient, simple, eternal and omnipotent. The latter raises some difficulties, and paradoxes. In a first part I will show how omnipotence can be defined differently, how radical omnipotence differs with limited omnipotence and the issue with logic. Then I will show how God’s omnipotence raises some paradoxes and contradictions, by relying on the paradox of the stone and the problem of evil. Finally I will try to answer some questions concerning God’s ability to sin, to bring about the past, and to do things not done by him. Does God’s powers have a limit, could it then be possible that God’s omnipotence isn’t logic ?…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the octet, the writer is expressing anger at the human population for being so preoccupied by materialistic things in the world and not focusing the attention on nature. The poem states, “getting and spending” describing human actions on buying things and spending more money than they should on materialistic things in the world. Also, this explains that instead of getting in touch with nature and the spiritual side of life, which is most important, humans have turned out to be selfish and just money oriented. The writer feels that people have given there hearts away from worrying about nature to things in the world that are not as important or as beautiful as the world surrounding them. In the poem, the word “sordid” means “filthy” and this truly expresses how filthy rich money will make you, but how filthy your mind will become at the same time. A few lines down the writer describe anger by using winds that are “howling at all hours.” This is expressing that nature is always calling to humans and expressing how it has been treated by the sounds it makes. The winds would be calm and peaceful if the focus was on nature and not so acquisitive.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics