The World is Too Much With Us
by William Wordsworth
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
Meanings of The World Is Too Much with Us
The sonnet “The World is Too Much with Us” by Wordsworth presents the view of the poet about nature getting along with mankind. It highlights the theme of man’s love for nature, the natural world as a living being, and the impact of nature on mankind.
Meanings of Lines 1-4
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours.
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The speaker, speaking in the first-person plural, states that the world is also with us, human beings, and that is also too much. He means that we waste most of the natural power sooner or later due to over-consumption without taking care of nature. The speaker is clear that we do not see nature very often and throw out our hearts. He is of the view that we do it to enjoy this presence of nature that is always with us. The speaker is of the view we do not take care of nature and enjoy it when it is all around us. He wants us to include nature in our day-to-day preoccupations. These four verses highlight the main idea of nature and the inclusion of its elements into human life.
Meanings of Lines 5-8
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
The speaker uses highly sensual images and adjectives to highlight the company of nature. He states that the sea lays its bosom bare to the moon and that the wind howls all the time when it blows. All these things get up and create a lovely scene as if they have been sleeping like flowers. It means that we do not see them quite often, nor do we observe them, the speaker seems to say, adding that “we are out of tune” with nature around us. It shows how the speaker wants us to enjoy nature. These verses show the main idea of love for nature.
Meanings of Lines 8-12
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
The speaker shows his inclination toward paganism, telling God that he would rather get nourishment from the creed that is also now outworn. In fact, fed up with the current and existing religious creeds, the speaker wants to get benefit from nature when he is in some beautiful valley. He thinks that he might be feeling less lonely as the current religious creeds have no panacea for his loneliness. In fact, the speaker wants to make nature their religion. These verses show the speaker’s love for nature and remedies for the modern ills that nature offers.
Meanings of Lines 13-14
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
The speaker recalls Grecian mythology, saying that he has watched the sea god rising in the sea and the other god, Triton, calming the waters with his conch. This shows that the speaker wants to be a pagan or nature lover rather than a Christian nature lover and sees that this ubiquity of nature is rather a new creed as all other creeds have lost their utility. These two verses sum up the main idea of the poem, which is the religious significance of nature.
Summary of The World is Too Much With Us
- Popularity: This sonnet is one of the best compositions by William Wordsworth that connects man with nature. It was first published in 1907. The popularity of the poem rests in its theme of how man has lost his connection with nature due to worldly concerns. This change in man has taken away the pleasures, joys, and comforts of a peaceful nature.
- Criticism of The Materialistic World: The poem presents Wordsworth’s discontent over the loss of nature caused by the rat race of mankind for material comforts. He claims that the materialistic approach of mankind has transformed human beings into senseless individuals. He further adds that humans do not realize their loss as they are obsessed with money, power, and possessions and fail to perceive beauty in nature. By discussing the pristine glory of natural objects, he shows that people are missing these delights in the race of the artificial He swears that he would rather be a poor pagan connected with the natural world rather than a rich man alienated from its bliss. He wants to see and hear the Greek gods and feels less forlorn.
- Major Themes: The major themes of the poem are the loss of nature and the natural world and the impacts of the busy life. The poet argues that people have forsaken their souls for material gains. In fact, the whole text of the poem denounces materialism which the poet has seen around him. To him, this approach of mankind deprives them of the true purpose of their life. Using figurative language, Wordsworth highlights the idea that nature gives spiritual pleasure and enjoyment and that we should know its worth. He adds that the lust for power and money has made people hollow as they have readily given their hearts to the things they need for material comfort.
Analysis of Literary Devices in The World is Too Much With Us
literary devices are used to bring richness and clarity to the texts. The writers use them to make their texts appealing and meaningful. Wordsworth, too, has employed some literary devices to bring uniqueness to this sonnet. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is given below.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in a verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For Example,
“Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn.” - Personification: Personification is to attribute human characteristics to non-human or even inanimate objects. The poet has used personification at several places in this poem, such as “sea that bears her bosom to the moon”; “The winds that will be howling at all hours” and “sleeping flowers.” All these expressions make nature possess human-like qualities like yearning for love, sleeping, and soothing.
- Allusions: Allusion is an indirect or direct reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, political or literary significance. This poem contains allusions to Greek mythology,
“Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.” - Imagery: The use of imagery makes the readers visualize the writer’s feelings, emotions, or ideas. Wordsworth has used images appealing to the sense of hearing, such as “winds that will be howling, “to the sense of touch as “sleeping flowers;” and to the sense of sight as “Proteus rising from the sea.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /s/ in “Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea” and /f/ and /t/ sounds in “For this, for everything, we are out of tune.”
- Simile: Simile is a device used to compare something to another thing to let the readers know what it is. There is only one simile used in line seven of the poem, “And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;” The poet has linked the howling of the winds with the sleeping flowers.
- Metaphor: There are two metaphors used in this poem. One of the metaphors is in the tenth line, “Suckle in a creed outworn.” Here creed represents mother that nurses her child.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as /o/ sound in “Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn”.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in The World Is Too Much With Us
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Sonnet: A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with one idea flowing throughout the text. There are many types of sonnets, such as Petrarchan or Shakespearean. This one is a Petrarchan sonnet.
- Octave: An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines, which usually appear in iambic. The first of the sonnet is octave that starts with “The world is….and ends on “… out of tune.”
- Sestet: A sestet is a six-line stanza of poetry. The term refers to the final six lines of a sonnet such as the second part of this sonnet.
- Rhyme Scheme: The whole poem follows the ABBA ABBA rhyme pattern in the octave and the CDCDCD rhyme scheme in the sestet.
- Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. The poem comprises iambic pentameter, such as, “A Pagan suckled in a creed out.”
Quotes to be Used
These lines can be used in a speech to discuss the mesmerizing, captivating, and enchanting beauty of nature.
“This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers.”
These lines can be used when teaching Greek mythology.
“Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.