"God's Grandeur": Hopkins' Poem Analysis

• "God's Grandeur" contrasts two worlds: nature made by God that is unspoiled and beautiful, and the degenerate, ugly world which is the result of generations of human abuse and despair.
• Hopkins reveals himself to be a poet of extremes, who is joyously positive or despairingly negative.

Lines 1-8: Octet

• The poem starts by portraying the natural world as animated by God's existence.
• The world is described as an electric battery, charged with divine energy in order to sustain it.
• God's presence is like beams of light.
• God's presence is compared to the ooze of oil and kingship in the Old Testament.
• Hopkins questions why man does not pay attention and respect God's authority.
• Assonance and alliteration reveal his disillusionment with man.
• The following lines explain why God might be angry.
• The onomatopoeic "trod" highlights the heavy impact of man's activities.
• Generations of humans have tarnished the natural world.
• Humans have lost touch with the environment.

Lines 9-14: Sestet

• These lines reveal a belief in the regenerative powers of the natural world.
• The natural world continues to renew itself, despite mankind's best efforts to destroy it.
• More positivity is present, and the text seems to move away from the dark towards the light.
• The regeneration is controlled by the Holy Ghost, who is presented as birdlike looking after its chicks in the nest.
• The closing is warm, comforting and consoling, and reveals deep relgious beliefs

Theme

• Nature, God, and Environment
• The natural world is a physical manifestation of God's presence

Imagery

• There are contrasting images of despair and elation.

Style

• Petrarchan Sonnet
• instress
• R.Q (reply question)

Symbolism

• Holy ghost and smudge are used as symbolism

Language

• Colloquial
• Metaphorical
• Uses adjectives and verbs
• Assonance and alliteration are present
• Onomatopoeia