In Gerard Manley Hopkins' sonnet "God's Grandeur," the speaker is an omniscient observer of mankind -- probably Hopkins himself. He is speaking to man in an effort to help society realize the beauty in life. Hopkins senses several errors in his species. He believes society fails to recognize the grandeur of God and is content to tread the earth and waste vast resources. "God's Grandeur" appeals to the readers' sensitivity and reveals the unlimited joys offered by nature. "God's Grandeur" can be divided into four sections:

Lines 1-4: a presentation of God's grandeur

Lines 5-8: a statement of man's feeble efforts

Lines 9-12: a praise of nature's resilient power

Lines 13-14: a return to God's benign power

The tone of this magnificent sonnet moves from a powerful capitulation of God's omnipotence, to a dreary expression of man's destruction of his earth, to a delicate statement of nature's everlasting fecundity, and finally to a gentle image of God protecting his creation.

Moving through the four marked sections of Hopkins's poem, the theme is quite clear: man is so imprisoned in the daily affairs of life (his "trade" and "toil"), that he fails to recognize the beauty and power o

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

In vivid contrast to the arresting quality of lines 1 to 4, the next section moves from images of God's grandeur to a depiction of man's despoiled, filthy, slimy world. The repetition of the phrase "have trod" marks a cycle of futile waste. The picture of man's ceaseless trodding on His earth is a powerful one. He leaves smudged footprints, and a layer of filth on desiccated ground that his feet "being shod," can no longer feel-he is far removed from flourishing nature. After Hopkins develops the greatness of God, he turns to mankind with the transition phrase, "Why do men then now not reck his rod?" Why do men fail to recognize and respect God's power and why do they fail to have concern about God's punishment?

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward springs-

And for all this, nature is never spent;

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

Hopkins hopes to improve and restore society's feelings for God and realize the beauty in the world. Society overlooks the grandeur of God and is content to trample the earth and abuse vast resources. Through the four parts of the poem, Hopkins shows God's omnipotence, the monotonous expression of man ruining His earth, the careful statement of nature's everlasting fecundity, and finally to a gentle image of God protecting His creation. Although man fails to recognize the b

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Approximate Word count = 973
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)