Gerard Hopkins wrote God's Grandeur in 1877 right around the time he was ordained as a priest. The poem deals with his feelings about God's presence and power in the world. He could not understand how the people inhabiting the earth could refuse or be distracted from God. This confusion was due to the greatness of God's power and overall existence that, to Hopkins, seemed impossible and sinful to ignore. However, as the poem progresses Hopkins expresses hope in the world and God's everlasting presence in it. This poem has much meaning to it and expresses the thoughts and feelings that Hopkins was having at the time he wrote it. When one first reads God's Grandeur it is hard to fully understand what Hopkins was trying to convey. One must
In line four, the harmony that was created by the choice of words and use of flowing alliteration is suddenly disrupted by a question: "Why do men then now not reck his rod?" The term "reck his rod" was slang at the time the poem was written and meant to basically obey God. Hopkins chose to use this term for a reason. This one line incorporates alliteration, assonance, and an internal rhyme. The consonant "R" and "N" are used to create alliteration, along with the repeating vowel "O" throughout the line to form assonance. The internal rhyme of "men" and "then" is also caught up in the mix of line four. Hopkins chose to do this to make the line very difficult to recite in order to correspond with the difficulty in human behavior. Hopkins does not understand why the human race by majority does not obey God. He feels that this is incorrect behavior. Line five continues with this thought. The phrase "have trod" is repeated three times in this line to represent the repeated mistakes and or sins of the human race. They are sins that are not realized by the sinners because of their neglect of God in their lives. Lines six through eight also integrate alliteration with internal rhymes. In line six the consonant "S" can be seen constantly throughout along with sophisticated internal rhyming, "And all is seared with