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.
In the early 19th century, English Romantic poet, William Wordsworth wrote several sonnets addressing humanity’s invariable destruction of nature. Within the poem “The World is too much with us” is one such work. It reflects Wordsworth’s view that it is essential for humanity to connect with nature in order to progress both spiritually and mentally.
This poem can be categorized as a pertarchan sonnet. The rhyme scheme of the poem is a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a in the octave, and c-d-c-d c-d in the sestet. This poem uses the sestet, which would be the last six lines, to answer the octave, which would be the first eight lines. In other words, the first eight lines the problem, and the last six lines are the solution.
The problem, according to the speaker, is that humanity does not appreciate nature, and consequently, is destroying it beyond repair. In the sestet of the poem, the speaker passionately proposes a solution to this problem. The speaker wishes he could have been raised as a pagan, so he could still see ancient gods in the actions of nature and thereby gain spiritual solace. His thunderous “Great God”, indicates the extremity of his wish- in a heavily Christian England, being a pagan was regarded as sinful, which furthermore illustrates his loyalty towards protecting nature. In the verse “I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less forlorn”, the speaker reveals a perception of himself amidst society. The speaker believes that only he sees the truth in the world. That nature is something that must be protected.
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In the poem, Wordsworth gives a fatalistic view of the world. The words “late soon” in the opening line describe how the past and future are included in his characterization of mankind. The speaker knows the potential of humanity’s “powers,” but the speaker believes that the powers are being clouded by the mentality of “giving and spending”. The speaker complains that “the world” is so overwhelming that we are unable to appreciate it. The speaker illustrates how people’s desire for time and money clouded them from enjoying what nature gives to us. According to the speaker, humankind had sold their souls.
Unlike the rest of society, Wordsworth did not see nature as a commodity, and thought a coexisting relationship with nature was ideal. The relationship between humankind and nature is portrayed as extremely vunerable and seems to be at the mercy of humankind. In line 5 “The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon”, The Sea symbolizes as a beautiful woman who offers herself to the heavens above. When the silvery moonlight reflects upon the sea, the scene looks equally as a fair woman does. Wordsworth once again reminds us of nature’s beauty. The phrase “sleeping flowers” in verse 7 might describe how nature is being overrun constantly and is helpless.
Wordsworth also utilizes literary devices such as metaphors and imagery to help illustrate a forlorn world. In the metaphor “we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon”, in line 4, the word sordid represents some of the worst aspects of human nature, such as greed and selfishness, while the word boon is often associated with a blessing or a benefit. The contradiction between these two words suggests that materialism is a destructive blessing, which the Industrial Revolution, which was going on at that time had produced. In other words, new technologies bring pleasure and are a symbol of progress that humankind has made, but they also feed greed and selfishness, thus a “sordid boon”. In the simile “and are gathered now like sleeping flowers”, in line 7, Wordsworth suggests that mankind is unaware of the beauty and power that the natural world holds. However, at the same time, there is also certain optimism, the appearance of sleeping flowers implies that humans are only dormant, and there is still hope that mankind will awaken and come to realize the beauty of nature.
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In the poem, Wordsworth uses the word “we” and “us” repeatedly, meaning he refers to ALL of humankind, including the reader, positioning the reader to engage with this poem.
The many semicolons and commas that are in this poem help instill reflection into the reader. In each pause, the reader is given time and space to ponder and contemplate the message Wordsworth is trying to convey.
In conclusion, this sonnet offers a frightful summation of the familiar Wordsworth theme of nature, and tells us how far Wordsworth believed we had to go in order to progress as a race.
Works Cited:
Phillips, Brian. SparkNotes on Wordsworth’s Poetry. “The world is too much with us.” 17 August 2007.
