The Full Text of “God's Grandeur”
1The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
2 It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
3 It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
4Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
5Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
6 And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
7 And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
8Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
9And for all this, nature is never spent;
10 There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
11And though the last lights off the black West went
12 Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
13Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
14 World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
The Full Text of “God's Grandeur”
1The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
2 It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
3 It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
4Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
5Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
6 And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
7 And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
8Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
9And for all this, nature is never spent;
10 There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
11And though the last lights off the black West went
12 Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
13Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
14 World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
-
“God's Grandeur” Introduction
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Summary
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Themes
-
God, Nature, and Man
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
Industry and Destruction
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “God's Grandeur”
-
Line 1
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
-
Lines 2-4
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. -
Line 4
Why do men then now not reck his rod?
-
Lines 5-6
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; -
Lines 7-8
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. -
Lines 9-10
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; -
Lines 11-12
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs — -
Lines 13-14
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Symbols
-
Feet
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
Sunrise and Sunset
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Epizeuxis
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metonymy
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Polysyndeton
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Rhetorical Question
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Simile
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Charged
- Grandeur
- Reck
- Rod
- Trod
- Trade
- Bleared
- Toil
- Foot
- Shod
- Spent
- Brink
- Bent
- Broods
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “God's Grandeur”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Speaker
-
-
“God's Grandeur” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “God's Grandeur”
-
-
More “God's Grandeur” Resources
-
External Resources
-
"God's Grandeur" Read Aloud — Listen to a reading of the entire poem.
-
An explanation of sprung rhythm — A short Encyclopaedia Brittanica entry about sprung rhythm, which is the meter that Hopkins invented.
-
Wikipedia Entry on Hopkins — A relatively brief biography of Hopkins's life, along with an overview of his body of poetry.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins
-
