Gerard Manley Hopkins-"God's Grandeur"

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ attempt in “God’s Grandeur”, as may be inferred from the title, is to expound upon the greatness of God. Hopkins accomplishes his mission not only by explaining the awesomeness of God by spending each stanza on one person of the Trinity, but also by contrasting the qualities of God with those of humanity. In addition, he draws the reader in by appealing to three of the five senses.

Visually, he demonstrates God’s greatness with images of extreme brightness and order. God’s greatness is so obvious that it is literally flashing at humanity, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God./It will flame out, like shining from shook foil” (lines 1-2,774). The fact that the whole world is charged with God’s grandeur hints at God the Father’s omnipresence and omniscience. If He can be everywhere, He can know everything. The reference to the foil speaks to God the Father’s omnipotence; the reflection off foil is very intense and almost impossible to ignore. For humanity to not see something so obvious indicates a high degree of blindness. It is ironic, because humanity is not blinded by the light but rather blind to the light. However, the future tense indicates that humanity will not be blind forever; something will change it. Given that the next stanza can be interpreted to be about Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, it seems that Jesus may be the one to open the people’s eyes. Or perhaps their eyes will not be opened until the Second Coming and Final Judgment, as implied by the mention of God’s “rod” in line 4 (774).

Yet the fact that we do not recognize something that is literally right in front our eyes is a strong criticism. Hopkins asks, “Why do men then now not reck his rod?” (line 4, 774). In other words, Hopkins is having a hard time understanding our blindness to God. If God is so powerful, and ever present, why do men not heed Him? Man’s indifference to God seems especially puzzling in light of men not “reck[ing] his rod.” It was unclear to me whether Hopkins’ meant “rod” in the sense of an instrument of discipline or as a symbol of authority; in either case, the line asserts God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipotence are something to be admired and possibly even feared.

In the first stanza, Hopkins also gives an image of God’s greatness in the coherency of His saving plan for creation. God’s grandeur is described, “It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil/Crushed.” (lines 3-4, 774). In other words, all things come together for good when God is in charge. This image of harmony and order directly contrasts the image of earth that bears a human imprint. Hopkins notes in the second stanza, “And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;/And wears man’s smudge” (lines 6-7, 775). It is interesting to note that Hopkins blames the searing of the earth on trade. Perhaps it is a reference to deforestation by the cut and burn method, as he later comments, “…the soil/Is bare now” (lines 7-8, 774). The blearing and smearing of the earth with toil could refer to the fact that mankind’s creations, be they fields of grain or looming cities, lack the diversity and order innate in nature.

The sense of smell has also been muted. Hopkins notes that the earth “shares man’s smell” (line 7, 775). This could be a reflection of pollution of God’s good clean air. This smell of man could be many things; I am inclined to think of a more mechanized, industrial smell. Movements are generally a contrary reaction to the era before, so Hopkins could have been criticizing Industrialism. Man’s smell could be the smoke of a factory or the stink of the streets that sometimes served as sewers in the crowded inner cities.

The most primal sense, the sense of touch, has also been lost. Hopkins writes, “…nor can feet feel, being shod” (line 8, 775). Mankind has lost its sense of connection to nature and self, perhaps even to God. What is interesting is that this disconnect is self imposed. According to the Biblical account in Genesis, Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, clothed themselves out of shame for their nakedness after falling into temptation and eating an apple from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Being a Jesuit priest, Hopkins might have been insinuating that mankind’s fall from grace was the root of all humanity’s problems. This fall from grace necessitated the incarnation of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.

In the second stanza, Hopkins shows over and over that humans have only ever made a mess of the original perfection; they have lost their senses repeatedly. His note that “Generations have trod, have trod, have trod” (line 5, 775) shows that humans did not learn from their mistakes. This lack of progress toward anything resembling God’s plan is shown not only by Hopkins’ use of the word “generations” but also by his use of repetition. The phrase “have trod, have trod, have trod” gives the reader a feeling that successive generations have only continued to muddle up the earth. The consecutive, almost constant nature of the mistakes also points to the second stanza being about Christ. Christians commonly believe that Christ bore on the cross the sins of the whole world, and not only the whole world, but of all time.

In the final stanza, however, Hopkins hopes to restore the reader to God’s sight with images of hope. God is not only omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, but ever faithful. Hopkins notes “And for all this, nature is never spent;/There lives the dearest freshness deep down things” (lines 9-10, 775). In other words, spring always arrives despite the desolation of winter; God has a plan to set things right. The image of God the Spirit as a caring entity is given, “…The Holy Ghost over the bent/World broods…” (lines 13-14, 775). It is a very protective and conscientious posture. The tenderness of God (and joy in salvation) is given in the final line with mention that the Spirit watches everything with “warm breast and with ah! Bright wings.” (line 14, 775). The Spirit’s posture indicates that the world is against God’s warm chest; He cares very deeply for it.

Hopkins, as a Jesuit priest, believed in a Trinitarian God. Trinitarian theology states that there are three persons in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that there are three stanzas in this one poem, one for each person of the Trinity. The first stanza relates to God the Father with its images of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence coupled with a divine will or plan. The second stanza relates to God the Son, by explaining mankind’s downfall with images of disgrace to the beautiful world God the Father had created; in other words, describing the lack of sense and the conditions that necessitated the Incarnation. The final stanza centers upon God the Spirit, with the comforting image of the Spirit watching over the whole world. “God’s Grandeur” is ultimately a poem with a message of unconditional love: God watches over the earth and is attentive to it despite mankind’s many mistakes.