How the Sonnet Form is Associated with Love and Ardent Expression :: Sonnets Love God Essays

How the Sonnet Form is Associated with Love and Ardent Expression God’s Grandeur is a sonnet associated with the environment and obviously, God. It is an Italian petrarchan sonnet, where there is a noticeable split in the poem which makes up the octave and the sestet. The first four lines of the octave, describes a natural world through which God’s presence runs through like an electric current, becoming at times noticeable is flashes. A metaphor is used to emphasise God’s Grandeur as an electric force. Gerard Hopkins suggest that there is some kind of force not to our attention, which builds up a sort of tension which can be both positive or negative. God’s presence could also be described as a rich oil, which when tapped with a enduring pressure, builds up to a greatness. These comments are stated in the poem, ‘It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil’. It is clear to the reader from this point that the love being expressed here is very much towards God, his presence, and the natural world surrounding us. After the poet, Gerard Hopkins, suggests the fact of God’s presence in the world, he then asks the reader to ask themselves why humans fail to take note of God’s powerful authority. The word ‘rod’ in this poem represents God’s grand authority. The image of electricity also subtlety returns in the fourth line, where the ‘rod’ of God's punishments calls to mind the lightning rod in which excess electricity in the atmosphere will sometimes disappear. The stressed syllables in the fourth line also reinforce to the reader the question which is being asked here by Hopkins. For example, words such as ‘Crushed, why, not’ all contribute to the powerful rhythm, which helps put the question across more efficiently. This all contributes in helping the poet convey such a strong ardent expression, which is needed greatly in order for the full effect of the poem to show. In the next line, the strong, falling rhythm of ‘have trod, have trod, have trod,‘ recreates the sound of marching footsteps in emphatic onomatopoeia. The message here is of what man has done to the environment, God’s environment, by using it over the years for various means of transport. The onomatopoeia and alliteration here helps to put the message across because the tension increases by a large amount, resulting in a more exciting and powerful climax. The word ‘and’ is used often and the start of lines to compound something which is trying to be said. It helps put across the message more efficiently because the same word is being continuously ’drummed’ into the reader ’And all is seared†¦And wears man’s smudge’ etc.