"The World Is To Much With Us; Late and Soon" Analysis

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 wreathed horn.

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In my explination of this poem it means apparent advancement and progression as having a negative impact on what intrinsically it is too be human - Our spiritual and emotional freedom that allows a connection with. The civilisation and social structuring of man through our urbanisation and industrialisation has resulted in human's losing their connection with nature and the natural beauty

| Posted on 2012-05-14 | by a guest

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poem criticises society\'s apparent advancement and progression as having a negative impact on what intrinsically it is too be human - Our spiritual and emotional freedom that allows a connection with. The civilisation and social structuring of man through our urbanisation and industrialisation has resulted in human\'s losing their connection with nature and the natural beauty.

| Posted on 2011-08-16 | by a guest

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poem criticises society\'s apparent advancement and progression as having a negative impact on what intrinsically it is too be human - Our spiritual and emotional freedom that allows a connection with. The civilisation and social structuring of man through our urbanisation and industrialisation has resulted in human\'s losing their connection with nature and the natural beauty.

| Posted on 2011-08-16 | by a guest

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In this poem i believe Wordsworth is getting at the utillitarian nature of todays society. Wordworth believes their is no appreciation of nature hance the key metaphor "we have given our hearts away" the second metaphor "we are out of tune" (no longer spiritually connected to nature or the world)reinfources this.

| Posted on 2009-11-13 | by a guest

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I got out of this poem that we are "out of tune" with the world because we get so hung up in our worldly desires that we do not focus on our eternal desires or needs. Any other thoughts?

| Posted on 2009-11-05 | by a guest

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I got out of this poem that we are "out of tune" with the world because we get so hung up in our worldly desires that we do not focus on our eternal desires or needs. Any other thoughts?

| Posted on 2009-11-05 | by a guest

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Some of these comments are indeed good, but how can I rely on a site that misspells the title?

| Posted on 2009-04-28 | by a guest

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trough this poem william wordsworth tries to explain that human is going to damage nature trough their habits. Proteus ann triton are the symbols of gods of mythology.

| Posted on 2009-04-15 | by a guest

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I think that this poem may seem boring when you read it but after looking at this closer you realise how we are destroying the earth. even though wordsworth wrote this long time ago it still applies to us now, how greedy people are and wanting everything to themselves. The poet is saying that people are not caring for the environment.
I am doing this poem for a really long and boring school poem project. This poem is good

| Posted on 2009-04-06 | by a guest

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I think that this poem may seem boring when you read it but after looking at this closer you realise how we are destroying the earth. even though wordsworth wrote this long time ago it still applies to us now, how greedy people are and wanting everything to themselves. The poet is saying that people are not caring for the environment.
I am doing this poem for a really long and boring school poem project. This poem is good

| Posted on 2009-04-06 | by a guest

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This poem examines the persona’s thoughts and feelings towards the industrialization of modern society (particularly England) and comments on the loss of innocence and moral integrity this has brought upon society. The first line “The world is too much with us” first addresses the idea of man’s separation from nature which is repeatedly referenced throughout the poem; “Little we see in nature”, “we are out of tune”. Wordsworth comments on the segregation of man and planet and blames this upon societies materialism and squalor “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;”. The powers Wordsworth makes reference to may be ones ability to imagine and to see ourselves as part of nature and God’s creation. These things appear to have been given up for the means of production, of gathering and mining and spending and working. The contrast of “sordid boon!” conveys the bitter-sweet victory of man over his environment. The comment the Wordsworth appears to make is that even though man may have advanced tremendously and has created civilization he has lost his connection and value with nature.
In the fourth line imagery of nature is used to appeal to the readers senses and to help them imagine the beauty of the scenes described by the persona “This sea that bears her bosom to the moon”. Furthermore personification is used which shows the naked beauty and vulnerability of nature “bears her bosom”. The next line however contrasts this peaceful yet passionate scene as the persona describes the “howling” winds giving nature a fierce and brutal mentality. However it is also possible to see the sea and the wind as our own human natures and feelings which are like “sleeping flowers” during this period when men neglected their natural origins and emotions and were “out of tune” with themselves.
The next line is the beginning of the sextet which brings with it a change in rhyming pattern. This sextet contrasts the octet where Wordsworth ridicules society’s abandonment of nature as he represents a society which praises nature “pagan” and is one with their earth. The reference to Proteus and Triton who are aquatic deities from Greek mythology and who have the ability to command the sea seems to say that society only holds the illusion of power over nature however it is real Gods such as these who are in control. Also the imagery used to describe “Proteus rising from the sea” and Triton blowing “his wreathed horn” gives the feeling of retribution from nature.

| Posted on 2009-03-31 | by a guest

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thank you all for such intellectual answers. You all explained this sonnet in much more depth than my professor. So once again, thanks for helping me write my essay. No worries, no plagiarism. You guys were just able to put thoughts into my head.

| Posted on 2009-02-10 | by a guest

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ELI D_In the poem "Death be not proud”, by John Donne, he gives personification to death. By making it appear human, he makes it less intimidating then it really is. In the opening lines, Donne says that even though people regard death as mighty and dreadful, its not so. He then says that rest and sleep, are images of death (because when you sleep it’s like dying temporarily). So if people enjoy rest and sleep so much, the for sure death which is the real thing is enjoyable. In his next line, “soonest our best men with thee do go”, Donne is saying that the good die young, almost as if death is a form of reward. This further stresses his point that death isn’t as bad as it may seem. Donne then makes a metaphor between a slave and death. He says death is a slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. By comparing death to a slave, Donne diminishes deaths power considerably, as a slave has no power or control of his own. The lack of freedom that death has in choosing its victims takes away any reason to be fearful of it. The writer then further mocks death, by saying that opium and charms can also put people to sleep, so death has no reason to be proud of its ability to do so. In fact, opium and charms are even better at it then death itself. Donne then adds that dying is not the end, by saying, “After one short sleep past, we wake eternally”. Lastly, Donne says that “death, thou shalt die!”. By purposely leaving off in a paradox, its evident that the only thing that really dies is death itself, because when humans die it’s just the beginning of a eternal life.

| Posted on 2008-12-04 | by a guest

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To me the poem pivots on the dicotomy of 'world' as opposed to 'the earth' It is our 'boon' to have altered the earth to our own devises, our own collective betterment. But a boon made 'sordid' by what we have lost, (and suggesting as well the uncleanness of the industrial age in the early 19th century, the means of production, the mining and gathering of materials, the necessities of city life, concentrations of humanity in drab filthy tenements blocks, the abuses of the labor force, men, women and children reduced to factory tools, their concentration in industry-owned houses, etc). 'Our powers' we have lost; the kind the Poet in his sensitivity did claim to apprehend... even if he was often wont to fully name. (The power to recognize ourselves in the fabric of nature, and in a God-created universe, surely.)
'Little we see in Nature that is ours' suggests not reality, but a mere illusion of separation, brought on by our imbalance, our shift of focus toward the rational and materialistic, and away from the Divine and inspirational, (to the Romantic poets of course Nature was a sacred source).

'The sea', 'the wind' are as 'sleeping flowers'... not in their presences within the world, but within US. It is our own powers and awareness we have lost, forsaken in our pursuit of material gain. 'We are out of tune, / It moves us not'.

And thus the last lines speak of what, for Wordworth, represents something nearer to what he sees as a vital human being in a human-shaped, human-sized reality, a reality worthy of us; something capable of igniting 'our powers', of suggesting our place in the Nature of things. '... a creed outworn'? He'd prefer that to a creed of 'progress' heedless to our connection to Nature and to our inner-selves.

| Posted on 2008-11-25 | by a guest

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Thank you to the person 2 posts down from me. Excellent work!

| Posted on 2008-10-28 | by a guest

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The only reason that I am even reading this poem is because it's my homework.
I hate poems.
This is stupid

| Posted on 2008-10-14 | by a guest

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The poet laments the fact that we have become immersed in the affairs of the world. We think 'getting and spending' is what life is about. We consider ourselves to be 'apart' from nature. We no longer think that we are part of nature and that we that we are connected to the trees, grass and the animals around. We have also forgotten the fact that it is when we realize our oneness with nature that we become truly happy. We do not realize that the pleasures of the world inevitably leave us dissatisfied but that the pleasures of nature do not. We think that nature is for us only and also for us to use as we wish. I would say that some verses in the Bible encourage us in this belief. 'The earth and its fulness thereof are thine'. Genesis says God created the earth for man's use. Older religions of Greece, Rome and also the religions of the East like Hinduism and Buddhism, the religions of ancient tribes like the Indians(of America), the aborginals of all nations,on the other hand, stress man's essential oneness with nature. Christ unlike modern day Christians warned us against the wiles of the world. He said, 'I am not of this world', meaning that he had conquered all worldly desires. But we are enmeshed in the affairs of the world and think this is life. Wordsworth prophetically speaks about materialism and consumerism taking hold of mankind two hundred years ago, when factories and machines were just coming into existence. He asks us to find our true selves.

| Posted on 2008-08-04 | by a guest

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Beats there a heart with soul so dead.... as to fail in the simplicity of the emotion of the Poet?
None of this is so complex as these commenters have said. And thus the Poet is current.
You may find more joy in these Poets if first you can identify the feeling that drives the words.
Good luck, good hunting.

| Posted on 2008-07-11 | by a guest

.: 1st part :.

the poem is basically explaining the conflict between humanity and nature.
'The world is too much with us; late and soon'
The sentence decribes how we have affected the world, the way the past and the future are going to be consumed by the way we are treating nature.
'Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:'
Wordsworth shows his fatalistic view on mankind, 'getting and spending' relates to our greed as a nation that we are using up all of natures resources. As the industrial revolution was just starting at this time, it gives us a great insight to what many of the poets thought about the way the revolution was spreading consuming nature. Using the word 'power', he makes man seem very all powerful and mighty, in comparison to nature. We are not using our powers for the good, instead greed has clouded our judgement.
'little we see in nature that is ours'
Even though we do not own the nature, we still use it for our benefit, and instead of contributing to it we are taking it away.
'We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!'
Allusion is used here to relate to the bible. As man, we are made out of dust, as described in genesis. This sentence is saying that we have given away the part of us that is the earth, and by doing this and destroying this part of us, it is 'a sordid boon', which basically means this spreading consuming is terrible.
'The sea that bares her bosom to the moon'
This could have many meanings.As a women baring herself in these days was very unnatural, it could be refering to the fact that this is unnatural for us to destroy the earth. It could also mean that int he way the women is bearing herself, our actions have been exposed for everything to see, we have given ourselves away for money and greed and material posessions.

| Posted on 2008-05-19 | by a guest

.: 1st part :.

the poem is basically explaining the conflict between humanity and nature.
'The world is too much with us; late and soon'
The sentence decribes how we have affected the world, the way the past and the future are going to be consumed by the way we are treating nature.
'Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:'
Wordsworth shows his fatalistic view on mankind, 'getting and spending' relates to our greed as a nation that we are using up all of natures resources. As the industrial revolution was just starting at this time, it gives us a great insight to what many of the poets thought about the way the revolution was spreading consuming nature. Using the word 'power', he makes man seem very all powerful and mighty, in comparison to nature. We are not using our powers for the good, instead greed has clouded our judgement.
'little we see in nature that is ours'
Even though we do not own the nature, we still use it for our benefit, and instead of contributing to it we are taking it away.
'We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!'
Allusion is used here to relate to the bible. As man, we are made out of dust, as described in genesis. This sentence is saying that we have given away the part of us that is the earth, and by doing this and destroying this part of us, it is 'a sordid boon', which basically means this spreading consuming is terrible.
'The sea that bares her bosom to the moon'
This could have many meanings.As a women baring herself in these days was very unnatural, it could be refering to the fact that this is unnatural for us to destroy the earth. It could also mean that int he way the women is bearing herself, our actions have been exposed for everything to see, we have given ourselves away for money and greed and material posessions.

| Posted on 2008-05-19 | by a guest

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I think this poem means that we as humans are always caught up with wordly things not remembering where the true reason for living lies.

| Posted on 2008-04-01 | by a guest

.: home work :.

this poem is confusing and make you wonder if we are consuming the world and nature. But yet this makes you think and get a better understanding.

| Posted on 2008-01-09 | by a guest

.: home work :.

this poem is confusing and make you wonder if we are consuming the world and nature. But yet this makes you think and get a better understanding.

| Posted on 2008-01-09 | by a guest

.: The World Is Too Much :.

the poem the world is too much with us means that, us being on this earth is enough.. for us.. you might want to see onther things, but know that you cant.... i like this poem and i am doing it on a school project... it is hard, yet i am learning a lot along the way.............

| Posted on 2007-05-09 | by a guest

.: similarity :.

...for some odd reason, the depictions of man in this poem brings up a vague, yet resemblance to the events of the Cold War...the spread of communism by the soviet union and....and the ousting of communism by the united states....figting....for what they think is right...not considering how it affects the very thing they are trying to protect....earth....

| Posted on 2007-04-18 | by a guest

.: nature :.

the writer arises a question in our minds in the octave(first eight lines); what did we to our bounds to the nature and nature itself? We became consumers and lost our emotions. "The world is too much with us" that we are consuming it. There is no more balance,harmony. The regret of mankind.
In the sestet (last eight line) he finds an impossible solution or criticize being a Christian who behaves as enemy of nature. He tells he would prefer a pagan who admires an worship nature.

| Posted on 2007-04-04 | by a guest

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We regret what we did in the past and fear about tommorow. In the process acquiring worldly possessions we waste the chance of doing what we really want to at the present moment. We never see happiness in nature, that is where true nature lies. We have have become ruthless in acquiring world things and will do just about anything to get it. The poet wants to convey
to us that most of the people of the world are real [censored]s , they have no respect for nature

| Posted on 2007-01-31 | by a guest

.: ??? :.

This means that:
We regret what we did in the past and fear about tommorow. In the process acquiring worldly possessions we waste the chance of doing what we really want to at the present moment. We never see happiness in nature, that is where true nature lies. We have have become ruthless in acquiring world things and will do just about anything to get it. The poet wants to convey
to us that most of the people of the world are real [censored]s , they have no respect for nature .



| Posted on 2005-09-22 | by Approved Guest