Gerard Hopkins wrote The Greatness of God 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 inhabitants of the earth could reject or be distracted from God. This confusion was due to the greatness of God's power and overall existence which, to Hopkins, seemed impossible and sinful to ignore. However, as the poem progresses, Hopkins expresses hope in the world and God's eternal presence in it. This poem has a lot of meaning and expresses the thoughts and feelings Hopkins was feeling at the time he wrote it. When you first read The Greatness of God, it is difficult to fully understand what Hopkins was trying to convey. One must first examine the life of the author himself to begin to understand what the words of the poem indirectly mean. Hopkins was born on 28 July 1844 as one of nine children in Stratford, Essex. He was born into a thriving Europe that was growing rapidly industrially. Both of his parents were very involved in the Catholic Church, and his father had published a volume of poetry a year before his birth. As can be determined from this, much of his influence came from his parents. Hopkins began writing poetry in high school, during which time he won a poetry prize. This award gave him a scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned two degrees and was considered by his professors and colleagues to be the star of Balliol. Throughout his life he was very attached to his religion. So much so that in 1868, after joining the Society of Jesus, he burned all his work because he believed it to be in conflict with Jesuit principles. It was only in 1872 that he began writing poetry again. It was t...... middle of paper... will that keeps him in one piece. People today may see it differently, based on the fact that even more people are ignorant of the greatness of God than in the late 1800s. Maybe religion is really dying? I myself agree with Hopkins. I would like to believe that there will come a day when people will start to realize that we are going in the wrong direction and that spirituality should not be neglected. My opinion might be biased because I am a religious person too, but I believe there is one thing we can all agree on; Without hope, we are all doomed. Works Cited Everett, Glenn. "Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Brief Biography." The Victorian Web. 1988. National University of Singapore. April 1, 2006 .Hopkins, Gerard. "The greatness of God." Bedford's introduction to literature. Ed. Michael Mayer. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. 876-876.