Gods Grandeur :: essays research papers

Relationships between humans and the Divine have been the subject of many authors writings, in fact the very first text ever published was the Bible; the most comprehensive link between the Divine and humans. History is full of examples of people trying to define their relationship with the Divine or lack there of, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love...'; (Psalm 51:1). In the poems, “God’s Grandeur'; by Gerard Manley Hopkins and “Leda and the Swan'; by William Butler Yeats, humans relationships with the Divine is explored. In these poems we see an attempt to capture the obscurity, beauty and knowledge that are ever present in human beings relationships with the Divine. Hopkins and Yeats use a variety of method to express these views and in many ways differ in their attempts to capture this special relationship, but essentially they are trying to explain the same thing: the interconnection between the Divine and humans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In many aspect human and Divine relationships are very obscure, since it is often difficult to remain faithful when God does not appear to be apparent in every day life. Hopkins realizes this, but compels the reader to take a closer look at the splendor of God which surrounds us every day, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God'; (Hopkins). Everything around is full of God’s glory, but one needs to realize that, “God’s glory is hidden except to the inquiring eye or on special occasions'; (MacKenzie, 1981, p. 63). This is represented by the comparison of God’s glory to the shaking of gold foil. Gold foil when viewed from only one angle appears to be dull, but when shaken gives of radiant light, much like lightning. If we limit ourselves to looking for God only on the surface we may actually miss His true radiance because we are unwilling to explore other venues to discover Him. Much like lightning, God’s display of glory can be dangerous and powerful: “The electrical images convey danger as well as power, but their display is rare'; (MacKenzie, 1981, p. 63). The glory of God is present but at the same time is obscure and irregular, we must therefore, strive to see it in our everyday life. Yeats also uses these images of power to portray the obscure nature of the Divine: “A sudden blow: the great wings beating still'; (Yeats).