The World Is Too Much With Us By William Wordsworth Analysis

Analysis, Pages 7 (1747 words)

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Upon the first read, the title of the poem might suggest that too many jobs are in the world that humans have created. Saying the world is too much might hint that the poem will be about someone who is against human advancements and technology. With the title, William Wordsworth is revealing that he believes too many problems make people in the world worry about simple tasks that would not be a problem if humans had not expanded across the planet.

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The present industrial world is overwhelmed with the material advances of mankind. It obligates our lives and makes humans reach an unhealthy degree. We often rush in our work and try to get from one thing to the next without acknowledging the world around us. We earn money for the day and spend it the next. Our earnings and rewards are no longer savored and otherwise flushed away quickly. As a result, we have destroyed a vital part of humanity.

We lost the ability to connect and admire nature. In exchange for the industrial advances that we have gained, we have given away our emotions and liveliness for nature. The ocean reflects the moonlight, the ongoing winds of the night, and the gathered flowers that close and wither, only to eventually bloom. These natural features still exist in our present world but we have forgotten they existed and no longer appreciate them. We have obstructed our connection with nature and do not experience the same impact of nature as we used to.

The speaker wishes they were raised differently in a different culture. He wishes that he was taught to worship many gods. That way, by standing on a patch of grass, he could admire the ocean and winds around him. Similar to previous times. He could be calmed and his heart warmed by the scenery amongst the world. While examining nature, he might see the Greek god Proteus before his eyes, or hear the Greek god, Triton, blowing his legendary conch shell. The speaker will once again be able to appreciate the beauty of nature in the world.

The poem is an Italian sonnet. It is written in the form of an octave with two quatrains and a sestet with two tercets. The octave presents the problem in the story and the set displays the resolution or solution for that problem. In The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth the diction does an excellent job of conveying the author's message and emotions. The message that the speaker wants us to know is the negative effects on the world today. When Wadsworth uses the words like “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Lay waste has a very negative effect, reading this makes it seem like we are wasting our lives or not getting the full experience of life. The industrialized world is to blame for this. In “The World is Too Much With Us,” there are many examples of imagery throughout the text. For example, “Proteus rising from the sea.” This line shows a mystical god as he arises from the depths of the scene to be seen by the human eye, putting a very vivid image in our mind conveying our emotions. This example of imagery applies to our sense of sight. Hearing is another example of our senses that is affected by imagery. “ Winds that will be howling,” when you hear the words howling wind you put an image into your mind to try and put yourself inside that situation. Also when we hear the words sleeping flowers we think about nature's beauty at rest.

The pov of the poem shifts throughout the poem. It can be inferred that the first speaker is the author and the second is the voice of a person who has an outlook on nature. Both speakers’ voices are first-person. The first speaker uses a collective pov and uses words like “we” and “us”. The second speaker uses a personal perspective and uses words like “I”. Both speakers voice the opinion that needs to be more accounted for and not forgotten about. The first speaker uses lines to describe that society is too rushed and quick. The speaker mentions that the economy is forced and relates heavily to the industry. The speaker makes note that society should appreciate nature more. The second speaker then transitions to a personal view on the terrific visions of nature and its presence in our world. The speaker continues to discuss how he/she wishes they were raised to appreciate nature more. The key details in the poem are the components of the theme build-up and the shift of attitude in speakers. The poem has an overwhelming theme of disappearing respect for nature. Several components build up this theme and express the message that society's connection with nature has been destroyed. Details such as figures of speech and symbolism lead up to the theme. The shift in the voice also serves to be a great impact on the poem. The poem has different tones that are expressed. At some points, the speaker is disappointed and frustrated and at other times the speaker is appreciative and calmed. These details can support the plot and make the poem more significant. The poem includes just a couple of allusions towards the end of the story. The poem has allusions to greek mythology. These allusions are towards the end of the poem in lines 10-14. These allusions reference the greek gods of Proteus and Triton to an outdated religion that the speaker wishes he/she was raised into.

The two main pieces of symbolism in the poem are the sea and the flowers. The sea symbolizes the defenseless form of nature because when the sea is faced with increased industry production it is polluted and damaged. This symbolizes the effects society has on nature and how nature is too vulnerable to humans. The flowers are another significant part of the symbolism because they describe nature’s existence. The flowers are delicate and pretty but are temporarily closed for the night because it is cold. The next day the flower can wither or bloom. The relationship between humans and nature is similar because the flower has uncertainty, just like humans are uncertain to appreciate nature. Nature is still present for humans but society is withering away from it, rather than blooming. Instead, humans are blooming into industrial advancement and letting nature die. If the flower dies it does not bloom again. If society's connection with nature dies, it won’t be restored. Figurative language: there are many examples of figurative language throughout the poem The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth, such as personification, imagery, simile, etc. Some examples of figurative language throughout the poem include “sleeping flowers” and “The winds that will be howling at all hours.” This shows personification because it gives human-like traits to other elements of nature. There is a simile used in line 7 which is “And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers.” This simile is showing how we missed out on life and we didn’t blossom. Assonance also occurred in this poem when the poem states, “Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.” This is an example of assonance since it has the same repeated vowel sound.

The speaker’s attitude throughout the poem changes as the poem goes on. At the start of the poem, he shows his disappointment in the fact that humans are losing compassion for the Earth and nature as a whole. He has an attitude shift in lines nine and ten he even goes as far as rethinking his religious viewpoints just so he can experience the beauty of nature and Earth. His compassion for the Earth gives him disappointment in humankind and he is disgusted by the lack of compassion for Earth and its natural beauty. The shift in “The world is Too Much With Us,” occurs in line 9 of the poem. In the first 8 lines, Wordsworth talks about how humans take the world for granted and how humans don’t appreciate nature. This is all due to the newly industrialized world. In the lines after line 9, it shifts toward a more different way of life. The speaker talks about how he wishes he was brought up and raised differently and also the solutions to the world's problems. He almost seems calm in the last lines compared to the beginning where he was very hostile. After the shift also a new rhyme scheme comes into play. It changes from a-b to c-d. The stanza's divisions also change from octuplet to a sestet. The purpose of the shift was to show the difference between the anger at the beginning and the peace at the end. It also almost seems like he is also trying to resolve this problem.

After thoroughly examining the poem multiple times, it is blatantly clear that the speaker is angry about the loss of connection to the nature of the world from human advancements. When he says “The World is too Much”, he is referring to all of the different tasks we have to carry out in our everyday lives including our jobs. He made the point in the poem that nowadays humans work to earn money, to spend the money that they have just earned. This demonstrates the author’s side against human advancements. The title becomes clear after reading the poem and means humans are becoming too concerned and occupied with other tasks instead of finding how to connect with nature and the wonderful emotions that come with it.

In conclusion. This sonnet has many themes as the story goes on but the main and most prominent theme is that people aren’t as connected with the world as they should be. This theme connects with the sonnet because the speaker talks about how as society grew with technological advancements, it also strayed further and further from nature and the Earth’s natural beauty. The sonnet was written in 1802 which was a time of large material and technological advancement. The speaker shows his dislike for industrialization and loss of touch with nature in his poem by using religion as a way of depicting his theme. He speaks of paganism and how it may not be so bad if it meant he could see the Earth for its natural beauty. Society lost connection with the natural world and forgot to appreciate nature’s features.