The World Is Too Much With Us Meaning
Poetry Analysis: “The World is Too Much With Us”
William Wordsworth’s poem “The World Is Too Much With Us” is a sonnet published in 1807. Williams Wordsworth was an extreme nature-lover, and in the poem the speaker stresses how the obsession we have with “getting and spending” causes us to forget the gift and the beauty of nature. The speaker talks about how this world is so overpowering, we cannot appreciate and treasure nature, and we are so caught up in ourselves and money, we do not take the time to appreciate nature itself. When the speaker says “getting and spending”, they are referring to the consumer lifestyle following the Industrial Revolution. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet on account of it is divided into two parts: an octave …show more content…
of eight lines, and a sestet of six lines at the end. William Wordsworth uses symbols, imagery, and wordplay in “The World is Too Much With Us” to discuss how we are out of tune with nature.
Wordsworth incorporated symbols throughout his poem.
An example of symbolism is in Line 5 when the speaker refers to “the sea” as something that should be moving us, yet does not. The speaker says the sea is one taking off their shirt by saying “bares her bosom”, although considering he did not use “like” or “as”, this is also a metaphor. The words “bares her bosoms” also shows alliteration because these all start with the same letter. This symbolizes how although the sea is massive and beautiful, we are yet to be moved by its beauty. In Line 6, the speaker says that the wind is a wolf that “howls” meaning that the wolf that howls is a metaphor for the wind. Another symbol that Wordsworth used is simile. When he says when the winds are not “howling”, the speaker makes the comparison of them to “sleeping flowers” and that they are “up-gathered.” The speaker uses the word “like” to form his comparisons, so he is using …show more content…
simile.
This poem shows colorful imagery and aids the argument that Wordsworth has.
He causes the sea to be personified for the reason it bears its bosoms to the moon. Also the wind is shown to “howl” at all hours making it seem as though it is an animal. These lines show immense imagery, because the reader to stop and think about nature and to appreciate it, considering it portrays the sea as a woman and the wind as a man. Every aspect of nature in this poem has been personified, and it is believed there is a separate god for each part of nature. The image of Proteus rising from the sea is a strong way to cause the reader to see and believe that this can actually be seen in real life. The image of Triton and him blowing his wreathed horn is an example that works the mind and puts the reader into the poem. Caused by his love for nature, Wordsworth tries to put these images into the mind of the reader to help them understand how there is a greater meaning to nature than what meets the eyes. Wordsworth brings light to these issues by using images to push his point and capture the attention and admiration from the reader. A main way that Wordworth causes the reader to develop a full mental view of what they are reading is by the use of the senses. Throughout reading the poem, many examples show how the senses can make the reader see and almost be a part of the poem. Starting in Line 3, the speaker describes humanity's separation from nature as a kind of blindness; how people no longer
see any similarities between nature and humankind, nor do they see anything in nature that is worth their time. By using the words blindness and “sees”, wordsworth taps into the sense of sight. In Line 12, the speaker says that if he were a pagan he might have "glimpses" of something that would make him less depressed. To me, when he says “glimpses” it makes me visualize what he is trying to see. In Line 13, the speaker elaborates on those "glimpses," telling us that if he were a pagan he might "have sight" of Proteus rising out of the sea, but in Line 14, alongside the vision of Proteus, the speaker tells that he might also "hear" Triton blowing his horn. The sense of hearing is being used to cause imagery in the poem.
The poem images the idea of rejecting nature to rejecting your mother, because nature is also personified as a mother in the poem. In the poem, Wordsworth tried to show people that although we are searching for wealth and luxuries, nature has always been the true wealth that was meant for all to have.
Wordplay is a big part in wordsworths poem and helps
William Wordsworth’s poem “The World Is Too Much With Us” is a sonnet published in 1807. Williams Wordsworth was an extreme nature-lover, and in the poem the speaker stresses how the obsession we have with “getting and spending” causes us to forget the gift and the beauty of nature. The speaker talks about how this world is so overpowering, we cannot appreciate and treasure nature, and we are so caught up in ourselves and money, we do not take the time to appreciate nature itself. When the speaker says “getting and spending”, they are referring to the consumer lifestyle following the Industrial Revolution. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet on account of it is divided into two parts: an octave …show more content…
of eight lines, and a sestet of six lines at the end. William Wordsworth uses symbols, imagery, and wordplay in “The World is Too Much With Us” to discuss how we are out of tune with nature.
Wordsworth incorporated symbols throughout his poem.
An example of symbolism is in Line 5 when the speaker refers to “the sea” as something that should be moving us, yet does not. The speaker says the sea is one taking off their shirt by saying “bares her bosom”, although considering he did not use “like” or “as”, this is also a metaphor. The words “bares her bosoms” also shows alliteration because these all start with the same letter. This symbolizes how although the sea is massive and beautiful, we are yet to be moved by its beauty. In Line 6, the speaker says that the wind is a wolf that “howls” meaning that the wolf that howls is a metaphor for the wind. Another symbol that Wordsworth used is simile. When he says when the winds are not “howling”, the speaker makes the comparison of them to “sleeping flowers” and that they are “up-gathered.” The speaker uses the word “like” to form his comparisons, so he is using …show more content…
simile.
This poem shows colorful imagery and aids the argument that Wordsworth has.
He causes the sea to be personified for the reason it bears its bosoms to the moon. Also the wind is shown to “howl” at all hours making it seem as though it is an animal. These lines show immense imagery, because the reader to stop and think about nature and to appreciate it, considering it portrays the sea as a woman and the wind as a man. Every aspect of nature in this poem has been personified, and it is believed there is a separate god for each part of nature. The image of Proteus rising from the sea is a strong way to cause the reader to see and believe that this can actually be seen in real life. The image of Triton and him blowing his wreathed horn is an example that works the mind and puts the reader into the poem. Caused by his love for nature, Wordsworth tries to put these images into the mind of the reader to help them understand how there is a greater meaning to nature than what meets the eyes. Wordsworth brings light to these issues by using images to push his point and capture the attention and admiration from the reader. A main way that Wordworth causes the reader to develop a full mental view of what they are reading is by the use of the senses. Throughout reading the poem, many examples show how the senses can make the reader see and almost be a part of the poem. Starting in Line 3, the speaker describes humanity's separation from nature as a kind of blindness; how people no longer
see any similarities between nature and humankind, nor do they see anything in nature that is worth their time. By using the words blindness and “sees”, wordsworth taps into the sense of sight. In Line 12, the speaker says that if he were a pagan he might have "glimpses" of something that would make him less depressed. To me, when he says “glimpses” it makes me visualize what he is trying to see. In Line 13, the speaker elaborates on those "glimpses," telling us that if he were a pagan he might "have sight" of Proteus rising out of the sea, but in Line 14, alongside the vision of Proteus, the speaker tells that he might also "hear" Triton blowing his horn. The sense of hearing is being used to cause imagery in the poem.
The poem images the idea of rejecting nature to rejecting your mother, because nature is also personified as a mother in the poem. In the poem, Wordsworth tried to show people that although we are searching for wealth and luxuries, nature has always been the true wealth that was meant for all to have.
Wordplay is a big part in wordsworths poem and helps