The World Is Too Much With Us

842 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: William Wordsworth as a poet of nature

Nature is an extraordinary phenomenon that can put us in a state of awe no matter how it is expressed; from a single eloquent rain drop to a great flourishing forest Nature can have a wondrous hold on our attention. However, the hold is diminishing as our culture becomes more materialistic. This is not a recent occurrence as show by William Wordsworth’s “The World is Too Much with Us” . This sonnet was first published in 1807, but could have been write as early as 1802 ( Overview 1). During this period of time the Industrial Revolution was in its earliest stage of developing that caused an increase in the luxurious goods consumers could purchase and a materialism mindset also increased. Wordsworth expresses “a concern with nature” and “ the …show more content…

The “world” that is mentioned is a symbol for the world of consumerism. This gives us the initial idea that materialism has become of evident importance to the culture that Wordsworth lives in. The second line confirms this idea of “getting and spending” that has made money the “universal god of worship”(Jones 1). We no longer pay attention to nature and “have given our hearts away” as Wordsworth expresses in line four. “The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon” in line five is a metaphor for a person or nature exposing themselves and it having no effect on us whatsoever expanding Wordsworth theme of a broken bond with nature. Wordsworth is stating “that nothing in nature makes any impression on people anymore, not the sea under the moon nor the fierce winds that are “now like sleeping flowers” mentioned in line seven (Overview 1). Line eight contain the two literary devices of synecdoche and metaphor. The first part of line eight “for this, for everything”, “everything” is a symbol for nature, the wind, the sea, and etc.. In the next part of line eight is a metaphor in which “out of tune” is a comparison between a instrument and our hearts, a symbol for our emotion, are no longer one with nature . “It moves us not” in line nine, the word “moves” is a metaphor for nature making us register an emotion response from it. Wordsworth uses allusion to send us back to pagan times where nature was the primary aspect of life

Show More
Related

  • Robert Frost: Annotated Bibliography

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this poem, Frost includes his fear of the ocean and exaggerates its destructive power. As Judith Saunders stated that “The first thirteen lines have depicted an ocean storm of unusual force, and through personification the poet attributes to this storm a malign purposefulness” (1). Frost provided human characteristics on the storm to help prove his point that the ocean has bad intentions and its only purpose is to hurt him. Frost does not describe the waves as a result of unfavorable weather; he explains them as having a malignant intention to destroy the world. This poem revolves around the forces of nature and could be included in the long list of nature themed poems by Robert Frost.

    Read More

  • August 2026 There Will Come Soft Rains

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem had been one of the owner’s favorites and the house read it to her every night before bed. When the poem is read to the woman before bed, the house says, “There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, and swallows circling with their shimmering sound…” (4). This line from the poem read by the house describes the perfect image of nature and its purpose. The poem discusses different images and proves life’s beauty to its reader. Whoever was to read the poem is meant to recognize the significance of nature and its beauty, and how often it is overlooked. People expect nature to tend to their every need, when in fact, nature is in no debt to

    Read More

  • The Great Scarf Of Birds Analysis

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diction surrounding this alteration enhances the change in attitude from self-loath to outer-disgust, such as in lines 8 through 13, which read, “The sky/ was dramatic with great straggling V’s/ of geese streaming south, mare’s tails above them./ Their trumpeting made us look up and around./ The course sloped into salt marshes,/ and this seemed to cause the abundance of birds.” No longer does he use nature as symbolism of himself; instead he spills blame upon it and deters it from himself. The diction in the lines detailing the new birds he witnesses places nature once more outside of his correlation, as lines 14 through 18 read, “As if out of the Bible/ or science fiction,/ a cloud appeared, a cloud of dots/ like iron filings, which a magnet/ underneath the paper

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Second Coming and World Is Too Much with Us

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    The World Is Too Much with Us, written by William Wordsworth in 1807 is a warning to his generation, that they are losing sight of what is truly important in this world: nature and God. To some, they are one in the same. As if lacking appreciation for the natural gifts of God is not sin enough, we add to it the insult of pride for our rape of His land. Wordsworth makes this poetic message immortal with his powerful and emotional words. Let us study his powerful style: 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! (Lines 1 - 4) Materialism, wasteful selfishness, prostitution! These are the images that these lines bring to me! Yet, is it not more true today than in Wordsworth’s time, that we are a culture of people who simply consume and waste?

    Read More

  • Diction And Tone In John Muir's Poetry

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Muir and William Wordsworth use diction and tone to define nature as doing a necessary extensile of life. Throughout Muir’s and William’s works of literature they both describe nature as being a necessary element in life that brings happiness, joy, and peace. Both authors use certain writing techniques within their poems and essays to show their love and appreciation of nature. This shows the audience how fond both authors are about nature. That is why Wordsworth and Muir express their codependent relationship with nature using diction and tone.

    Read More

  • Friendship in Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite his position, Wordsworth can hear the “soft island murmur” of the mountain springs. As “five long winters” suggests, Wordsworth is cold and dreary—London, we must remember, is a bitter place. He longs for the islands: the sand, sun, and warm waters that those murmurs suggest. The coldness of winter could be brought about by Rebecca’s distance from her brother; they had been, at the time of the poem’s writing, separate for five long years. But he can hear reconciliation coming just at the edge of hearing: he can spot the horizon of friendship. But no sooner does friendship appear in the poem than it is thwarted by these lines:

    Read More

  • Lines Written in the Early Spring, by William Wordsworth

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his poem, 'Lines Written in the Early Spring,' William Wordsworth gives us insight into his views of the destruction of nature. Using personification, he makes nature seem to be full of life and happy to be living. Yet, man still is destroying what he sees as 'Nature's holy plan'; (8).

    Read More

  • The World Is Too Much With Us

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature’s brilliance During the literary Romanticism period, there was a big upsurge in the attention and importance of nature. This is because the mavericks and writers of this time laid great prominence not only upon the splendor and grandeur of nature, but the sovereignty of the natural world. To a certain extent, these romanticists viewed nature the way a devout Christian would view Jesus. A great example of this borderline zealous obsession with nature is beautifully displayed in “The World is Too Much with Us” by William Wordsworth.

    Read More

  • Spirituality in John Greenleaf Whittier's The Worship of Nature

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    The title of the poem is an indication that the reader should prepare himself or herself for some sort of spiritual experience. Whittier uses the word "worship" to title his poem because by the end of the poem the reader will learn that there is much more to the natural world than water, land, and sky. The poem starts with the birth or creation of nature. Whittier explains to his readers that the natural world has existed since God created it. He compares the creation of nature to music. This stanza is very appealing to the senses because nature is musical. The insects, winds, and birds are all a part of this "song" that "has never died away". The poet reminds readers of this very important idea because we as humans have a tendency to forget the value and importance of nature. The second stanza takes readers beyond the initial creation and introduces readers to the many purposes that nature serves. Whittier explains that "prayer is made and praise is given." Personification is an important tool used in this poem. Obviously nature cannot really pray or give praise, but the various functions of nature in this world give the illusion that it does pay homage to a higher being. For instance the lines in the second stanza, "The ocean looketh up to heaven, /And mirrors every star" says that the ocean is a mirror for heaven. If we look into the deep sea, we are in essence looking into a reflected image of heaven. Other instances when Whittier uses personification in this way are the first and second lines in the third stanza, "Its waves are kneeling on the strand/As kneels the human knee". Whittier tells his readers that just as man bends his knee to show respect to God so the ocean waves bend when they reach the shore as a sign of respect.

    Read More

  • William Wordsworth's The World Is Too Much With Us

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today we live in a world that is required to constantly advance; there is no room for digression. Society has become extremely industrialized and in that, the people have forgot about the value of nature. In William Wordsworth’s “The World is too Much With Us” the speaker illustrates a huge problem in society with nature being neglected. In the poem it is expressed that nature has been forgotten about. In that time people were advancing and leaving nature behind. Which is why nature is no longer apart of society due to the fact of industrialization. Nature is now an outcast because it isn’t treated the way it was before. Which has led to further destruction of nature.

    Read More

  • I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth accomplishes his ideal of nature by using personification, alliteration, and simile within his poem to convey to the reader how nature’s beauty uplifts his spirits and takes him away from his boring daily routine. Wordsworth relates himself in solidarity to that of a cloud wandering alone, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1). Comparing the cloud and himself to that of a lonely human in low spirits of isolation, simultaneously the author compares the daffodils he comes across as he “floats on high o’er vales and hills” (line 2) to that of a crowd of people dancing (lines 3-6 and again in 12). Watching and admiring the dancing daffodils as he floats on by relating them to various beauties of

    Read More

  • The Role of Nature in the poetry of William Wordsworth

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Wordsworth has respect and has great admiration for nature. This is quite evident in all three of his poems; the Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey and Michael in that, his philosophy on the divinity, immortality and innocence of humans are elucidated in his connection with nature. For Wordsworth, himself, nature has a spirit, a soul of its own, and to know is to experience nature with all of your senses. In all three of his poems there are many references to seeing, hearing and feeling his surroundings. He speaks of hills, the woods, the rivers and streams, and the fields. Wordsworth comprehends, in each of us, that there is a natural resemblance to ourselves and the background of nature.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Nature in Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature inspires Wordsworth poetically. Nature gives a landscape of seclusion that implies a deepening of the mood of seclusion in Wordsworth's mind.

    Read More

  • Above Tintern Abbey and Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wordsworth recognizes the connections nature enables humans to construct. The beauty of a “wild secluded scene” (Wordsworth, 1798, line 6) allows the mind to bypass clouded and obscured thinking accompanied with man made environments. “In which the heavy and the weary weight of all this unintelligible world, is lightened,” (Wordsworth, 1798, lines 40-43). Wordsworth observes the clear and comprehensive mindset conceived when individuals are exposed to nature. Wordsworth construes nature as a force, delving further into the depths of humans, bringing forth distinct universal and spiritual perspectives. Wonder and awe in the face of nature is awakened within even the most stubborn of minds. The human spirit becomes at mercy to nature’s splendor.

    Read More

  • Nature in "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Figurative language is used by William Wordsworth to show the exchange between man and nature. The poet uses various examples of personification throughout the poem. When the poet says:”I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1),”when all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3), and “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6) shows the exchange between the poet and nature since the poet compares himself to a cloud, and compares the daffodils to humans. Moreover, humans connect with God through nature, so the exchange between the speaker and nature led to the connection with God. The pleasant moment of remembering the daffodils does not happen to the poet all time, but he visualizes them only in his “vacant or pensive mode”(line 20). However, the whole poem is full of metaphors describing the isolation of the speaker from society, and experiences the beauty of nature that comforts him. The meta...

    Read More

More about The World Is Too Much With Us

Open Document