The World Is Too Much With Us

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 beA 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 wreathèd horn.

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 wreathèd horn.

Elements seen in this poem include: • Imagination • Nature • Symbols • Emotion • Self • And Individualism

Imagination • Wordsworth’s expression is dreamlike. • He expresses possibility and wishful thoughts. • “I'd rather be” • “So might I” • He also makes references to the Gods. • “Proteus rising from the sea” • “Triton blow his wreathèd horn”

Nature • There are obvious references to nature in this poem. • The poem itself is a call to appreciate the beauty in nature than many disregard and neglect. • Specific references to nature are highlighted in green below: • 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 beA 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 wreathèd horn.

Symbols • The most apparent symbol in this poem is the reference in line 1 to “the world.” • “The world” is a reference to anything that is not nature. • Wordsworth would have seen this as corruption, therefore, “world” is a symbol for corruption in Wordsworth’s poem. • “Nature,” on the other hand, is an opposing symbol. • It is surrounded by images of peace and harmony. • Wordsworth even provides nature with an image of strength. • He says “we lay waste our powers” when we are not appreciative of nature. • Nature, therefore is a symbol for righteousness, purity, peace, and strength in Wordsworth’s poem.

Emotion • Because of Wordsworth’s attachment to nature, the reader is bombarded with the speaker’s expression of emotion. • The reference to the heart implies a disgust the speaker feels at the lack of emotion in others. • “We have given our hearts away” • The exclamation at the end of that line suggests a strong emotional movement. • “a sordid boon!” • Again, in line 9, the speaker notes his disgust that emotion does triumph over the reader’s connection to the corrupt “world” • “It moves us not.” • Followed by another exclamation in which the speaker proclaims his preference to experience and appreciate nature. • “Great God! I'd rather beA pagan suckled in a creed outworn”

Self • The presence of “self” in this poem is simply stated and easily recognized. • The poem is told through a first person narrative. • The speaker refers to himself as “I” and the reader as “you” or “us.” • The poem is an intimate conversational piece between the reader and the poet, whose ideals shine through the lyric.

Individualism • Individualism and the idea of the poet as a “romantic hero” is another element that can be easily pointed out through Wordsworth’s poem. • The poem is at once “bold, suggestive, and experimental” in tone and quality through its wild exclamations and its form which closely resembles natural speech patterns. • The poem also suggests that the poet is “inspired,” having great knowledge and a keen understanding of the essence and beauty of nature, while the people surrounding him remain ignorant; trapped within the confines of a corrupt “world.”

The following items will be checked for your grade: • The opening slide is the title of the poem and the poet’s name. (5) • The second slide is the text of the poem.(5) • The student effectively dissects the poem.(15) • The student provides appropriate, thoughtful images to represent specific pieces of the poem.(30) • The student includes at least 6 elements of Romantic poetry.(15) • The student effectively explains the elements found in the poem(15) • The student provides references to the poem to support each explanation. (10) • The student’s name and the date is on the final slide. • A deduction of 10 points will be taken for each late day! • The projects will be presented on Monday, November 28.

The World Is Too Much With Us