The World Is Too Much With Us

In “The World is Too Much With Us,” William Wordsworth utilizes literary devices such as tone, personification, and allusion to address how the growth of industry has influenced people to become disconnected with nature. Through the traditional structure of a Petrarchan sonnet, Wordsworth conveys a negative attitude towards these industrial changes and how the changes are too drastic even for religion to fix. The author uses the volta, the traditional shift of a Petrarchan sonnet between the octave and sestet, to respond to the spiritual losses caused by materialism. The poem communicates to the audience that the expansion of industry causes people to overlook the beauty of nature. Wordsworth conveys different tones throughout the poem to address that how the overwhelming fixation of materialism is causing people to lose touch with nature as well as their own souls. There is an evident tone of dissatisfaction in the entirety of the poem. The author groups society as a whole when he says, “Getting and spending,
we lay waste our powers;” (2). The use of the word “we” in this line implies the frustration that the speaker holds against everyone involved in this industrial movement. The author tends to suggest that society is misusing their existence in becoming overly captivated by making and spending money. The distraction that he is addressing is evident when he says, “Little we see in Nature that is ours;” (3). The continued use of first person pronouns contributes to the author’s displeased tone in society’s push towards materialism as a whole. Wordsworth’s frustrated tone is heightened when he explains. “We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (4). The exclamatory tone in which the author ends this sentence helps to indicate his increase in frustration. His escalation in anger can be attributed to people allowing their souls to be diminished by materialism. The techniques used by Wordsworth in developing his tone help to portray his negative feelings towards the effects of the industrial revolution. The resentment that Wordsworth holds against in the growth of materialism revolves around societies disconnect with the beauty of nature. The author personifies nature when describing the beauties it possesses. He gives the ocean human-like traits when he says, “this sea that bears her bosom to the moon;” (5). Wordsworth personifies nature again by saying, “the winds that will be howling at all hours,” and then describes the flowers as sleeping. The continuation of describing aspects of nature by associating them with human traits creates the idea of nature having feelings. The feelings of nature are evident in Wordsworth’s description of the wind as it is constantly howling for attention. In the line following his description of nature, Wordsworth builds on his argument by saying that we have become “out of tune,” with the importance of nature. The personification of nature strengthens the author’s overarching theme of the world’s ignorance towards natural beauty, by making nature itself seem as if it feels ignored by the people of the industrial revolution. There is an obvious shift between the octave and sestet in this poem both structurally and in Wordsworth’s ideas. This shift, also known as the volta, moves the author’s thoughts from his observations of society as a whole to how he individually proposes to endure the growth of materialism. The shift in his thoughts are evident as he stops using first person plural pronouns and transitions into the use of first person singular pronouns in line nine. It is here that the author suggests he “rather be a pagan suckled in a creed outworn;” (10). Wordsworth implies that he rather believe in Greek Gods and celebrate nature than to remain a part of the world that is ignorant of nature’s beauty. He then makes allusions to the Greek sea-gods Proteus and Triton to support his urge to recognize nature. The allusion to these gods are presented in an angry and almost sarcastic tone. Wordsworth believes that belief in an outdated religion “would make [him] less forlorn;” than taking part in the movement towards materialism (13). In addition to the shift in perspective, the rhyme structure of the poem is altered. In the opening octave the poem had a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA and then in the concluding sestet the rhyme is CDCDCD. The change in rhyme scheme mirrors Wordsworth’s transition in perspective Society’s greed for money and material things during the Industrial Revolution is similar to the materialistic nature of our current society.
Though the material things people wish for have evolved from a steam locomotive to the newest iPhone, the obsession with material goods has remained unchanged. The frustration that Wordsworth asserts with people becoming disconnected with nature is similar to the feelings that parents have about their kids today. The popularity of video games and similar technology has influenced many kids to never gain an appreciation for nature. The want for these new technologies result in kids of this generation remaining disinterested in the beauty that nature has to offer. The growth of industry and technology is inevitable in the world today, and has taken over a lot of the natural world. Wordsworth would be appalled by the dominant role technology plays in society today and how many rely on technology for
happiness. William Wordsworth effectively expresses his frustration surrounding the growth of materialism through his use of literary devices throughout this sonnet. His use of tone managed to portray his emotions on the topic in a very compelling manner. The use of personification allows Wordsworth to expand his argument by making it seem that nature itself feels ignored. Though Wordsworth pours a lot of emotion into this poem, he successfully maintains a good rhyme scheme and form. Through the strong use of tone, personification, and allusion, readers are able to gain an idea of Wordsworth strong animosity towards societies disconnect with nature that is still apparent today.