Poetry Analysis: "The World is Too Much With Us", by William Wordsworth

Poet Laureate: William Wordsworth

What is there in the poetry of William Wordsworth (1770-1850) that results in his appointment, as Poet Laureate, from 1843-1850? (1)

What role does the poem "The World Is Too Much With Us" play in this?

“The World Is Too Much With Us” - 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!
The 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. (2)

At this moment in his poetry, Wordsworth appears to be disillusioned with humankind. To him, human beings in his era, appear to be focusing more on the world, rather than on the beauty of nature and the gifts that are bestowed by nature. He sees human loyalties turning to materialistic values, with people denying all of the mysteries that the ancient Greeks knew and understood, with respect to the realm of nature and its pagan gods.

Project the words of this visionary into our era and ask, "Has nature changed, or has the nature of man changed?"

To both of these questions, one would be forced to respond in the negative.

Put this scenario into the contemporary world of an environmentalist today and one realizes that this is not something new and different. 

Perhaps in some way, Wordsworth could see into the future, maybe even beyond our future, but in a fatalistic way, like other forecasters of gloom and doom. Optimism appears to be lacking, as pessimism seems to reign supreme.

According to Wordsworth, man is the problem, with his inevitable greed always re-surfacing. Nature cannot rectify the problems, much less effect a change in the nature of man. Even old or new creeds and controversies do little other than set guidelines to which human beings may or may not adhere.

Nature versus God is old argument in his Wordsworth's era. In some way, he is appalled at what is happening around him and does not know how to respond to it, other than by penning these words in time. 

For some reason, even his faith in God seems to be shattered by what he sees happening.

To him man and nature are out of sync. It is like a melody that is being played on an instrument that is out of tune. But, is it nature and man that are out of touch with each other or is Wordsworth out of sync with God, too?

"I wandered lonely as a cloud," Wordsworth wrote in another poem. 

He is a man who lost both parents early in life. For comfort, he probably turned to nature and to God. Somehow, he is still not comforted. In fact, it appears that he is almost at the point of denying his faith.

Why resort to an earlier paganism?

Materialism will continue as a problem in the world. Abuse of the environment will continue unless humankind wakes up and realizes the seriousness of the issues at hand. Perhaps Wordsworth words are a call for humanity to wake up. It is like a voice crying in the wilderness. But, can man hear?

Perhaps the only time that man begins to hear is when he calls out to God, as Wordsworth appears to be doing. But, is he calling out to God, as we know Him in terms of Christianity or is the Great God that he is referring to, still part of the ancient Greek world of gods? Perhaps we cannot know. Maybe they are one and the same to him?

The conflict does not appear to find resolution in Wordsworth's writings. This poem appears to end on a note of helplessness and hopelessness. For a fatalist, everything ends in death. It cannot find resolution.

Perhaps the pagan sea god, Proteus and Triton, the master of the sea, envisioned by Wordsworth, foretell what is to come when there is resolution of conflict between God and man, as well as between nature and man.

Maybe one of the reasons that Wordsworth was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate has to do with his vision into the future. 

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_world_is_too_much_with_us