God’s Grandeur         Gerard Manley Hopkins 

‘God’s Grandeur’ is a poem written by an English poet, Hopkins. It is a sonnet through which the poet praises the magnificence and the glory of God in the world, blending accurate observation with lofty imagination. The poem is based on the concept that God is kind enough to have created the splendid world whose freshness and greatness kept on increasing for centuries despite the pollution caused by man.
According to the poet, the world is filled with the grandeur of God. It keeps on shining like gold tinsel and becoming greater and greater. The poet wonders about the reluctance of men to pay attention to the command of God although they are gifted with such a beautiful world. Further, he indicates the noisy activities of man on the earth. According to it, the earth has been habituated by man for generations after generations. As such, they are activated with trade and toil. Owing to this reason, the world is polluted bearing the smudge and smell of man as well as bare soil. The poet ironically points out that man is unable to perceive the pollution and soil erosion because of his shoes on. It indicates the lack of sensitivity in man.
Despite the damage done to nature, it is not exhausted. Its freshness continues to be present as before because the world is fresh from its core. In addition to it, Holy Ghost has designed the world to be fresh and bright. For this reason, the last light of the day leaves the world from the black west and returns to it in the morning at the brown brink (edge) eastward. This happens because the God at the horizon broods with warm breast and bright wings.
The poem is found to be simple despite the lofty imagination. It consists of a serious religious tone. Above all, it is based on the poet’s optimistic way of thinking. The first eight lines are devoted to the description of contrastive pictures of the world filled with grandeur of God and pollution of man. The last six lines take the form of a meditation on the freshness of nature preserved by Holy Ghost.

Important Questions from God’s Grandeur by Hopkins
Short Answer Questions
1. Give reasons why men are unaware of the greatness of god? [2058] 2. What is the central idea of the poem ‘God’s Grandeur’? [2059, 2061, 2062, 2068, 2069] 3. How the glory of God is praised in the poem ‘God’s Grandeur’? [2067]
Long Answer Questions
1. What is the central idea of the poem ‘God’s Grandeur’?
Glossary: [grandeur: beauty, tinsel: long shiny string used in decoration, reluctance: when someone does not want to do something, toil: to do difficult work for a long time, ironically: a type of humor in which people say exactly opposite of what they mean, perceive: notice, Holy Ghost: The third person in the trinity (trinity: The Christian godhead as one god in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost), broods: family of young animals or birds, lofty: of a good nature]