The world is too much with us (Line by line explanation and themes)

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 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.

“The world is too much with us” is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth who is one of the central figure of Romantic Movement in English Literature. It was first published in 1807. The poem laments the withering connection between humankind and nature, blaming industrial society for replacing that connection with material pursuits. He contrasts it with his desire for a more profound connection with nature and a return to a simpler way of life. Wordsworth wrote the poem during the First Industrial Revolution, a period of technological and mechanical innovation spanning the mid-18th to early 19th centuries that thoroughly transformed British life.

Line by Line Explanation.

1. Wordsworth begins by stating that the world, with its worldly concerns and distractions, is constantly around us, occupying our thoughts and time both early and late in our lives.

2. He criticizes the way people focus on acquiring material possessions and wealth, which he sees as a misuse of their potential and inner spiritual resources.

3. Wordsworth laments that people pay too little attention to the natural world, failing to recognize their connection to it. He suggests that we often overlook the beauty and meaning in nature.

4. The poet uses “sordid boon” to describe how we have surrendered our hearts to materialism and wealth, viewing it as a shallow and ignoble gift.

5. He turns to nature, mentioning the sea and how it exposes itself to the moon. This line suggests the idea that nature is open, pure and generous in its beauty.

6. The poet describes the winds, which are constantly active and howling, emphasizing their timeless and unceasing nature.

7. Wordsworth compares the winds to sleeping flowers, highlighting their current state of being ignored or overlooked by people.

8. He states that we are out of harmony with nature, emphasizing our disconnection form it.

9. Wordsworth expresses his desire for a different, more connected life. He would rather be something other than what modern society has made him.

10. He longs for a simpler, more pagan existence, free from the constraints of modern religion and society, which he views as outdated (“creed outworn”).

11. The speaker imagines himself standing in a pleasant meadow, away from the complexities of modern life.

12. In nature, he would find moments that would relieve his sense of loneliness and alienation.

13. He envisions seeing mythological sea god Proteus emerging from the sea, symbolizing a deeper connection with the elemental forces of nature.

14. Wordsworth also imagines hearing Triton, another sea god, blowing his conch shell horn, further connecting him to the natural world and its mythic, primordial elements.

In this poem, Wordsworth expresses his disillusionment with a materialistic, disconnected society and yearns for a return to a more harmonious, nature-centered way of life. He longs for a deeper connection with the natural world, which he believes can provide solace and spiritual enrichment.

 “The World Is Too Much with Us” Themes

Nature, Materialism, and Loss

In “The World Is Too Much with Us,” the speaker describes humankind’s relationship with the natural world in terms of loss. That relationship once flourished, but now, due to the impacts of industrialization on everyday life, humankind has lost the ability to appreciate, celebrate, and be soothed by nature. To emphasize this central loss, the poem describes it from three angles: economic, spiritual, and cultural. Notably, the poem does not suggest a way to regain what is lost. Rather, its tone is desperate, arguing that humankind’s original relationship with nature can never be revived.

The poem first presents loss in the economic sense, implicitly blaming urban life for the change in people’s relationship with nature. Because the urban world has “too much” control over our lives, we are always “late and soon” or “Getting and spending.” Modern humans are always losing time or money. As working people in an increasingly urban area, their lives are structured by a never ending series of appointments and transactions.

This lifestyle comes at a price: it destroys our power to identify with nature, or to appreciate the world around us. By focusing their “powers” on material objects, people grow unaware of their wider, and arguably more important, surroundings. The result is that nothing in nature—or elsewhere—is “ours.” This is a world where everything—be it a house, stocks in a company, or a loaf of bread—can be won or lost in an instant. By describing nature as something that can be owned or possessed, the speaker may be implying that modern human beings have lost the ability to think of relationships and emotions in anything but economic terms.

The poem next dwells on spiritual loss, though without forgetting that loss’s economic roots. “We have given our hearts away,” the speaker says. Though it uses economic language—people give something away in exchange for something else—this line adds another perspective to the depiction of loss. The price of material gains and industrial progress is the human heart itself, a symbol of life and emotion. In exchange, people receive a “boon”—that is, they gain something. Yet what they gain is “sordid”—it is dirty and immoral. In exchange for industrial progress, people have reduced themselves to an almost less-than-human state. The speaker suggests that this loss of humanity outweighs the material gain. As a result, “we are out of tune” and nature “moves us not.” People have fallen from an ideal, natural state into one of disrepair. Having given away their ability to access deep, enduring emotions, they are numb to the beauty of the natural world, spiritually unmoved by it.

In its final lines the poem describes a cultural loss, and its tone of resignation suggests the loss is permanent. The speaker invokes Greek paganism, introducing a version of society in which nature played a larger role in human life. But the pagan tradition is “a creed outworn”—it’s a relic, and no longer useful. Once the speaker acknowledges the uselessness of past traditions, his or her wishes come across as more fanciful than serious. “I’d rather be a Pagan” and “So might I” do not represent what the speaker believes is possible, but rather what he or she wishes were still possible.

As a member of modern society, the speaker cannot access nature in a way to make him- or herself “less forlorn.” This doesn’t mean that nature has been destroyed; the “pleasant lea” still exists, it just doesn’t soothe the speaker. At this moment of emotional despair, the best he or she can do is imagine a past that, in its fullest form, is lost and inaccessible.

The Individual vs. Society

The poem explores how modernity has eroded not just people’s connection to nature, but also people's sense of individual identity and agency. The poem subtly suggests that modern city life has lead to a sort of uniformity of experience, and that individuals are powerless to resist society’s homogenizing effects.

The poem’s first eight lines notably make use of the collective pronoun "we" as they reveal how, as society grows, the individual fades. In industrial society, “we lay waste our powers.” A power, skill, or ability is something that might distinguish an individual, but in an industrial society focused on material gain, those distinguishing characteristics disappear. As a result, everyone meets the same fate: “Little we see in Nature that is ours.” The speaker suggests that the natural world used to function as a sort of mirror in which humans could learn about themselves—a tranquil counterbalance to the chaotic city, and which encouraged self-reflection. As humans grow apart from nature, the poem suggests, they lose that space for self-reflection.

What's more, the speaker insists that “We have given our hearts away.” Again, the speaker describes an abstract, collective act, this time of every person giving away their heart—everything they personally care for—in the name of supposed progress. This reveals a sense of individual suffering and loss beneath sweeping societal change.

With the pronoun “we” in the poem's first half, the speaker thus describes how industrial life has isolated people in general from nature and partially erased their unique identities. With the switch to “I” in the second half, the speaker attempts to respond to those changes—and in doing so, provides an example of a person living within that industrialized society.

Yet this first-person speaker offers no solution to the problem presented in the first lines. Instead, he or she suggests that the individual is essentially helpless in the face of broad societal change through the allusions to the mythical Greek gods Proteus and Triton. In a context 

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 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.

“The world is too much with us” is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth who is one of the central figure of Romantic Movement in English Literature. It was first published in 1807. The poem laments the withering connection between humankind and nature, blaming industrial society for replacing that connection with material pursuits. He contrasts it with his desire for a more profound connection with nature and a return to a simpler way of life. Wordsworth wrote the poem during the First Industrial Revolution, a period of technological and mechanical innovation spanning the mid-18th to early 19th centuries that thoroughly transformed British life.

Line by Line Explanation.

1. Wordsworth begins by stating that the world, with its worldly concerns and distractions, is constantly around us, occupying our thoughts and time both early and late in our lives.

2. He criticizes the way people focus on acquiring material possessions and wealth, which he sees as a misuse of their potential and inner spiritual resources.

3. Wordsworth laments that people pay too little attention to the natural world, failing to recognize their connection to it. He suggests that we often overlook the beauty and meaning in nature.

4. The poet uses “sordid boon” to describe how we have surrendered our hearts to materialism and wealth, viewing it as a shallow and ignoble gift.

5. He turns to nature, mentioning the sea and how it exposes itself to the moon. This line suggests the idea that nature is open, pure and generous in its beauty.

6. The poet describes the winds, which are constantly active and howling, emphasizing their timeless and unceasing nature.

7. Wordsworth compares the winds to sleeping flowers, highlighting their current state of being ignored or overlooked by people.

8. He states that we are out of harmony with nature, emphasizing our disconnection form it.

9. Wordsworth expresses his desire for a different, more connected life. He would rather be something other than what modern society has made him.

10. He longs for a simpler, more pagan existence, free from the constraints of modern religion and society, which he views as outdated (“creed outworn”).

11. The speaker imagines himself standing in a pleasant meadow, away from the complexities of modern life.

12. In nature, he would find moments that would relieve his sense of loneliness and alienation.

13. He envisions seeing mythological sea god Proteus emerging from the sea, symbolizing a deeper connection with the elemental forces of nature.

14. Wordsworth also imagines hearing Triton, another sea god, blowing his conch shell horn, further connecting him to the natural world and its mythic, primordial elements.

In this poem, Wordsworth expresses his disillusionment with a materialistic, disconnected society and yearns for a return to a more harmonious, nature-centered way of life. He longs for a deeper connection with the natural world, which he believes can provide solace and spiritual enrichment.

 “The World Is Too Much with Us” Themes

Nature, Materialism, and Loss

In “The World Is Too Much with Us,” the speaker describes humankind’s relationship with the natural world in terms of loss. That relationship once flourished, but now, due to the impacts of industrialization on everyday life, humankind has lost the ability to appreciate, celebrate, and be soothed by nature. To emphasize this central loss, the poem describes it from three angles: economic, spiritual, and cultural. Notably, the poem does not suggest a way to regain what is lost. Rather, its tone is desperate, arguing that humankind’s original relationship with nature can never be revived.

The poem first presents loss in the economic sense, implicitly blaming urban life for the change in people’s relationship with nature. Because the urban world has “too much” control over our lives, we are always “late and soon” or “Getting and spending.” Modern humans are always losing time or money. As working people in an increasingly urban area, their lives are structured by a never ending series of appointments and transactions.

This lifestyle comes at a price: it destroys our power to identify with nature, or to appreciate the world around us. By focusing their “powers” on material objects, people grow unaware of their wider, and arguably more important, surroundings. The result is that nothing in nature—or elsewhere—is “ours.” This is a world where everything—be it a house, stocks in a company, or a loaf of bread—can be won or lost in an instant. By describing nature as something that can be owned or possessed, the speaker may be implying that modern human beings have lost the ability to think of relationships and emotions in anything but economic terms.

The poem next dwells on spiritual loss, though without forgetting that loss’s economic roots. “We have given our hearts away,” the speaker says. Though it uses economic language—people give something away in exchange for something else—this line adds another perspective to the depiction of loss. The price of material gains and industrial progress is the human heart itself, a symbol of life and emotion. In exchange, people receive a “boon”—that is, they gain something. Yet what they gain is “sordid”—it is dirty and immoral. In exchange for industrial progress, people have reduced themselves to an almost less-than-human state. The speaker suggests that this loss of humanity outweighs the material gain. As a result, “we are out of tune” and nature “moves us not.” People have fallen from an ideal, natural state into one of disrepair. Having given away their ability to access deep, enduring emotions, they are numb to the beauty of the natural world, spiritually unmoved by it.

In its final lines the poem describes a cultural loss, and its tone of resignation suggests the loss is permanent. The speaker invokes Greek paganism, introducing a version of society in which nature played a larger role in human life. But the pagan tradition is “a creed outworn”—it’s a relic, and no longer useful. Once the speaker acknowledges the uselessness of past traditions, his or her wishes come across as more fanciful than serious. “I’d rather be a Pagan” and “So might I” do not represent what the speaker believes is possible, but rather what he or she wishes were still possible.

As a member of modern society, the speaker cannot access nature in a way to make him- or herself “less forlorn.” This doesn’t mean that nature has been destroyed; the “pleasant lea” still exists, it just doesn’t soothe the speaker. At this moment of emotional despair, the best he or she can do is imagine a past that, in its fullest form, is lost and inaccessible.

The Individual vs. Society

The poem explores how modernity has eroded not just people’s connection to nature, but also people's sense of individual identity and agency. The poem subtly suggests that modern city life has lead to a sort of uniformity of experience, and that individuals are powerless to resist society’s homogenizing effects.

The poem’s first eight lines notably make use of the collective pronoun "we" as they reveal how, as society grows, the individual fades. In industrial society, “we lay waste our powers.” A power, skill, or ability is something that might distinguish an individual, but in an industrial society focused on material gain, those distinguishing characteristics disappear. As a result, everyone meets the same fate: “Little we see in Nature that is ours.” The speaker suggests that the natural world used to function as a sort of mirror in which humans could learn about themselves—a tranquil counterbalance to the chaotic city, and which encouraged self-reflection. As humans grow apart from nature, the poem suggests, they lose that space for self-reflection.

What's more, the speaker insists that “We have given our hearts away.” Again, the speaker describes an abstract, collective act, this time of every person giving away their heart—everything they personally care for—in the name of supposed progress. This reveals a sense of individual suffering and loss beneath sweeping societal change.

With the pronoun “we” in the poem's first half, the speaker thus describes how industrial life has isolated people in general from nature and partially erased their unique identities. With the switch to “I” in the second half, the speaker attempts to respond to those changes—and in doing so, provides an example of a person living within that industrialized society.

Yet this first-person speaker offers no solution to the problem presented in the first lines. Instead, he or she suggests that the individual is essentially helpless in the face of broad societal change through the allusions to the mythical Greek gods Proteus and Triton. In a context that showed more faith in the Greek tradition, these gods might actually represent the power of the individual. Proteus, with his ability to constantly change form, could stand for individual versatility. Triton, with his ability to lift waves by blowing his conch, might represent human strength. But having acknowledged the uselessness of the Greek tradition, the speaker regards these powers as pure fantasy. Thinking about them while “standing on this pleasant lea” doesn’t constitute an act of individual imaginative defiance, but of pointless idleness.

What Proteus and Triton do represent is the individualism inherent to a society that worshipped many gods, each with unique identities and means of worship. These ancient mythical figures contrast with the Christian God—a single entity, the worship of whom homogenizes religious activity in much the same way that industrialization and the thirst for material gain homogenize life within a big, industrialized city.

The perspective of the final lines, which looks out upon a limitless ocean horizon, might suggest the possibility of a fresh, more hopeful set of relationships between the individual, society, and nature. But if that’s the case, then it’s no more than that—a suggestion. Regardless of how the speaker goes on to change his or her perspective, the poem's final tone is one of dejection.

 that showed more faith in the Greek tradition, these gods might actually represent the power of the individual. Proteus, with his ability to constantly change form, could stand for individual versatility. Triton, with his ability to lift waves by blowing his conch, might represent human strength. But having acknowledged the uselessness of the Greek tradition, the speaker regards these powers as pure fantasy. Thinking about them while “standing on this pleasant lea” doesn’t constitute an act of individual imaginative defiance, but of pointless idleness.

What Proteus and Triton do represent is the individualism inherent to a society that worshipped many gods, each with unique identities and means of worship. These ancient mythical figures contrast with the Christian God—a single entity, the worship of whom homogenizes religious activity in much the same way that industrialization and the thirst for material gain homogenize life within a big, industrialized city.

The perspective of the final lines, which looks out upon a limitless ocean horizon, might suggest the possibility of a fresh, more hopeful set of relationships between the individual, society, and nature. But if that’s the case, then it’s no more than that—a suggestion. Regardless of how the speaker goes on to change his or her perspective, the poem's final tone is one of dejection.