"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a
sonnetThe sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in lyric poetry from Europe.The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song". By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme...
by the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
RomanticRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
poet
William WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
. In it, Wordsworth criticizes the modern world for being absorbed in
materialismThe philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the...
and distancing itself from
natureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. Composed circa 1802, the poem was first published in
Poems, In Two Volumes (1807). Like most Italian sonnets, its 14 lines are written in
iambic pentameterIambic pentameter is one of many meters used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used...
.
In the early 1800s, Wordsworth wrote several sonnets blasting what he perceived as "the decadent material cynicism of the time." "The world is too much with us" is one of those works.
"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a
sonnetThe sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in lyric poetry from Europe.The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song". By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme...
by the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
RomanticRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
poet
William WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
. In it, Wordsworth criticizes the modern world for being absorbed in
materialismThe philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the...
and distancing itself from
natureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. Composed circa 1802, the poem was first published in
Poems, In Two Volumes (1807). Like most Italian sonnets, its 14 lines are written in
iambic pentameterIambic pentameter is one of many meters used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used...
.
Theme
In the early 1800s, Wordsworth wrote several sonnets blasting what he perceived as "the decadent material cynicism of the time." "The world is too much with us" is one of those works. It reflects his philosophy that humanity must get in touch with nature in order to progress spiritually. The rhyme scheme of this poem is abbaabbacdcdcd. This Petrarchan sonnet uses the last six lines (sestet) to answer the first eight lines (octave).
Society is so bent on making and spending money in smoky factories and fast-paced business enterprises that it ignores the pristine glory of nature, which is a reflection of the divine. This is a universal theme that remains relevant in today's world.
Summary
William Wordsworth's poem is a statement about conflict between nature and humanity; the innate romance of the wild, and the spiritually crushing realities of the industrialized world. The symbolism in his poem gives the reader a sense of the conviction and deep feelings Wordsworth had. Wordsworth longs for a much simpler time when the progress of humanity was tempered by the restrictions nature imposed.
Wordsworth gives a fatalistic view of the world, past and future. The words "late and soon" in the opening verse describe how the past and future are included in his characterization of mankind. The author knows the potential for humanity, but the mentality of "getting and spending" clouds the perspective of humanity. Wordsworth does not see us as incapable, in fact he describes our abilities as "powers". "We lay waste our powers" is blamed on the earlier mentioned attitude of "getting and spending". The appetite mankind has for devouring all that is around clouds our perspective as to what is being sacrificed for the progress. The "sordid boon" we have "given our hearts" is the materialistic progress of mankind. Humanity has become self-absorbed and can no longer think clearly. The destructiveness society has on the environment will proceed unchecked and relentless like the "winds that will be howling at all hours".
Unlike society, Wordsworth does not see nature as a commodity. The verse "Little we see in Nature that is ours", shows that coexisting is the relationship envisioned. This relationship appears to be at the mercy of mankind because of the vulnerable way nature is described. The verse "This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon", gives the vision of a woman exposed to the heavens. The phrase "sleeping flowers" might also describe how nature is being overrun unknowingly and is helpless.
Wordsworth seems to be able to foresee the inevitable. He sees himself as one with the environment. The verse "I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less forlorn", show Wordsworth as a visionary who is not responsible for the destruction of nature.
Wordsworth sees himself as having insight to the problems which exist between humanity and nature. The materialistic progress being made by mankind is not without consequence. The destruction of the environment by mankind's shortsightedness will continue as Wordsworth has foreseen.