Essay on Gerard Manley Hopkins\'s Poem: God\'s Grandeur PDF

Preview

Summary

Essay on Gerard Manley Hopkins's Poem: God's Grandeur...

Description

Kaur 1

Ravnoor Kaur 1118433 ENGL*1080 Jill Doyle Divine Glory vs Mankind Destruction The poem “God’s Grandeur”, written by Gerard Manley Hopkins, illustrates God’s greatness and the connection between nature and God through the beauty of nature. This essay will observe how human greed and love for materialism is making humanity oblivious to the existence of God and his grandeur. In addition to this, while arriving at the conclusion, it is revealed whether divine glory triumphs over mankind destruction or vice versa. According to the poet, “the world is charged with the grandeur of God”, i.e. the presence of God is running through nature like an electrical current and it flames out, thereby becoming visible to us in the form of flashes, which sparkle like a metal foil when moved in light. Also, Hopkins finds God’s presence to be like a rich oil, whose “greatness” is discovered when crushed to its essence. Thus, God is not just connected to nature, rather his presence is infused within it. Even after being present in different forms of nature, the poet fails to understand how and why people do not acknowledge this divine presence. Further, he answers these questions himself in the lines: Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. These lines depict the state of modern human life, which is completely opposite of the poet’s visualization of lifestyle. The repetition of ‘have trod’ explains how the coming generations are

Kaur 2

remorselessly walking over the earth and causing destruction to it through industrialization. In blind chasing of rapid economic growth, humans have prioritized technological advancement to such an extent that it has changed the landscape drastically. Hopkins’ graphic use of words “seared”, “bleared” and “smeared” reveal his disgust at how “all” is devastating due to people’s persistent “toil” and “trade”. Not only this, the poet is quite disheartened by the fact that the natural world, which earlier used to bloom with God’s presence, is now gradually getting dipped into “man’s smell”. The day-by-day growth in industrialisation is robbing the natural world of its scenic beauty- the form in which divine glory exists. However, humans pay no heed to this loss and consequently go on exploiting the nature and its resources relentlessly. In the last line of the quoted stanza, the poet describes how humanity is losing its connection to God. He believes that the shoes, which we wear to cover our feet, are responsible for alienating us spiritually from nature since we no longer have a physical connection with “the soil” we move on. Just to be a part of the rat race, humanity has lost its attachment to God. Unfortunately, the destruction has been so successful that people even fail to notice what they have lost. Does their conscience never prick while marring the land they are born on and where they would continue to live? In my view, the answer is no. People forget the fact that they are not the actual owners of this land; it’s God who created it. Human greed and love for materialism have made us completely oblivious to God’s presence and his grandeur, which lies in the beauty of nature. Perhaps, that is the reason behind increasing global warming, industrialization and various other environmental problems. We have become so accustomed to these problems now that we forget about sustaining the world and its resources such as water, air, soil, etc., which are prerequisites for survival, for the coming generations. Therefore, we go on destroying the earth mindlessly and without giving any second thought to the repercussions of this exploitation. This shows how love for

Kaur 3

materialism and greed has taken over us completely, making us deprived of the basic moral values and reverence to God. Undoubtedly, humanity will have to pay for its remorseless activities of destruction because the creator of this world will always be there to protect his creation. This has been illustrated in the poem too, where Hopkins writes: And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs — Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. According to him, nothing can surpass God’s glory, and thus he believes that the Lord will protect nature come what may. He expresses his utter faith in God’s grandeur in the quoted stanza. He explains that the way there is always a morning waiting on the other side of a dark night, similarly there stays eternal presence of God to guard and protect nature, from the ruthless attempts of humanity to destroy it. According to me, the divine glory ultimately triumphs over mankind destruction because “the Holy Ghost” is there at all times to save nature like a mother hen who “broods” over her eggs patiently.

Looking from the poet’s viewpoint, it is not clear whether humanity would pay for its actions or not. Hopkins ends the poem describing the rebirth of nature, which is similar to the birth of a baby bird, popping out of the egg with “bright wings”. From my vantage point, humans would definitely pay for the devastation they are causing, in the form of nature’s fury. In my opinion, natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, etc., are the ways in which nature

Kaur 4

backfires. So, therefore it is possible that the reborn nature may not even consist of humanity, who caused its destruction.

In conclusion, I feel that all of us should start taking the ecocritical concerns seriously or otherwise there would come a time when humans too would become an extinct species.

Kaur 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hopkins, Gerard Manley. “God’s Grandeur”. 1877; 1895. The Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44395/gods-grandeur. Accessed xxx.

n...