Introduction to “The World Is Too Much With Us”
Wordsworth’s sonnet ‘The World is too Much with Us’ was written in 1802 and published in 1807. It is an idealistic portrayal of the human society, wherein the writer finds people too much involved with worldly things.
Being a romanticist poet, Wordsworth had many poems that had elements of nature, spirituality and the sublime in them. His poems have a close connection with the natural environment. This sonnet is a passionate statement of his despair at the break with this bond and the invasion of the modern world and its materialistic values.
The poem has been organized into Petrarchan sonnet having an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The use of rhyme scheme and meter give the poem its themes and the feeling that it conveys. In the octave of the poem, Wordsworth expresses his sorrow for the modern man’s detachment from the natural world and for the fact that people value material goods rather than the emotional richness.
The sestet is the poet’s lament for the loss of the pre-modern, scientific, industrialized and pre-technological relationship with the nature, when people were closer to the gods and to the world of myths.
Themes in “The World Is Too Much With Us “
1- Disconnection from Nature
The basic theme of the poem is the disconnection from nature. The writer deplores how people have become absorbed with material wealth and have lost connection with the natural world.
“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!”
These initial lines paint the picture of the world. Wordsworth sets the tone of the poem with the line ‘The world is too much with us’. This line followed by the next one where he says that people are engaged in ‘getting and spending’ shows his regret over the fact that people have become too much involved with the material world.
Thus, the statement “We have given our hearts away” stands for the loss of connection with the world and the natural environment, for the sake of the material values. This theme is dominant in the poem given the fact that the writer deplores on the absence of a special bond between him and the nature.
See also: Themes in The Lady of Shalott
2- The Value of Nature
Wordsworth emphasizes the integrant value of the nature. He proposes that a reconnection with the natural world is important for emotional and spiritual well-being.
“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;”
Wordsworth describes a wish to get back to the earlier, more harmonious relation with the nature and spirit. Here, society has been described as being out of tune with nature, suggesting that it is discordant and alienated.
To be “a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn” is the desire of the poet to return to the past when people were more in tune with nature and worshiped it. This theme represents the value of nature in the life of people and their need to stay healthy and happy.
3- Yearning for the Past
The writer describes a longing for the past, a time when humanity had a closer connection to the nature and the divine.
“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.”
These lines manifest Wordsworth’s desire to go back to the early days when man was close to the nature. By wishing to be “a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn”, he explores a preference for ancient belief systems and honored nature and the gods. There are references to Proteus and Triton which substations certain mythological golden age when humans were living in harmony with the nature. The theme of yearning for the past in this work is aligned with Wordsworth’s thoughts regarding modern society severing itself from nature.
4- The Power of Nature
The writer creates emphasize on the wonderful power of the nature and its ability to move and inspire the human spirit.
“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.”
These lines emphasize on the strength and elegance of the elements of the nature that are capable of eliciting strong feelings.
The sea “bares her bosom to the moon”, and the winds “howling at all hours” and “up-gathered now like sleeping flowers” form a sense of enthusiasm of nature. Wordsworth deplores that people are “out of tune” and they do not appreciate these natural magnanimities. This theme emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with nature to regain the sense of wonder.
Poetic Devices in “The World Is Too Much With Us”
1- Rhyme Scheme
The poem is in a sonnet form which is Petrarchan and has the octet’s rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA while the sestet’s rhyme is CDCDCC.
This kind of a structural rhyme helps in bringing a certain kind of order in the poem which is quite the opposite to the disordered state spoken of by Wordsworth with the relation to humanity to nature.
2- Meter
Wordsworth employs a rhyme scheme, the most common metrical pattern used in English poems, which consists of five iambs (a rhythmic sequence of unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable in a line).
The choice of iambic pentameter sets up a steady, meditative pace of the poem, and thus the audience can fully grasp the extent of Wordsworth’s bitter commentary and his desire for reunion with the nature.
3- Structure
The poem is divided into two parts: the octave and the sestet. The octave which forms the main conflict is that, man is alienated from the nature and is consumed with greed for material things.
The sestet presents the conclusion or even meditation to declare Wordsworth’s desire over the lost age in which man is more humane. Such a structure helps to portray the themes and guide the reader Wordsworth’s argument.
See also: The Second Coming (Themes & Poetic Devices)
Summary of “The World Is Too Much With Us”
In the poem, William Wordsworth expresses the concern of people’s detachment from the natural world and the world’s focus on material possessions. Thus, the poem starts with a strong condemnation of the society that is engrossed in “getting and spending” thereby derailing from what is natural. Wordsworth laments the fact that the people are ungrateful and do not value the nature and that they have ‘given their hearts away, a sordid boon!’
In the octave of the sonnet, Wordsworth paints a picture of the sea, the winds and other aspects of the world around him, focusing on the beauty and the energy of the natural world. He moans that people are now ‘out of tune’ with these wonders and no longer get affected by them in any way.
In the sestet, the writer turns to a more private meditation and explains that he wants to be ‘A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn.’ He wishes to be a worshipper of the nature when people still believed in its power. Thus, referring to Proteus and Triton, he underlines his desire to be in tune with nature more than he is now.
The poem ends with Wordsworth’s appeal to recover lost balance between humans and the nature, thus underlining the role of the natural environment in people’s lives.
See also: Themes in Fahrenheit 451
