Summary of the poem
Stanza 1:
Now-a-days the people run after money. Every time they think of it. Earning and spending it has been their sole aim. In this way, much of their power is wasted. They find no time to look at and appreciate the objects of Nature that are made for them. Alas, they have bargained their hearts to money. It is certainly a mean thing. People, engrossed in materialism, have no love left for this sea which is lying unclothed, with the moonlight falling directly on her. The winds that will be crying the whole day are quite calm now just like the unmoving flowers during the night. This beautiful scene, too, does not affect the worldly men. They have no liking for such charming scenes of Nature.
Stanza 2:
No natural scene brings any comfort to the people. The poet, showing his disgust to such people, says that it would have been far better if he were even a Pagan, away from this Christianity (who has made people so money-minded). By being a Pagan he, sitting on this meadow, might see several gods and goddesses in Nature thereby feeling less lonely. Then he might also see sea-god Proteus, coming out of the sea and hear old Triton pacifying the turbulent waves by blowing his conch.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
Introduction of the poem:
The poem “The World Is Too Much With Us” was first published in 1807 and later on included in "Miscellaneous Sonnets". It is based on the poet’s actual observation of life. This is one of the most famous sonnets of Wordsworth. He wrote this poem in reaction against the ugliness of the growing materialism of the nineteenth century. He wrote it with a view to give a clarion call to people to go back to Nature. He deplores the gross materialism and spiritual downfall of human beings. Wordsworth was really disappointed to see the evil effects of the Industrial Revolution. The increasing materialism replaced love of Nature, and man was getting more and more materialistic. The same ideas have been very aptly depicted by the poet in the sonnet.
Thought-Content:
The poet has condemned the materialistic tendencies of his age for they made people heartless and insensitive to everything that was beautiful and wholesome in life. People became so much occupied with the art of getting and spending that they were completely alienated from Nature and Art. They gambled away their natural powers for sordid things. The beauties and messages of Nature became meaningless to them in the face of gross materialism. They were completely blind to the beauty of the moon, the sea and the calm evening. The beautiful scenes of Nature failed to make an appeal to their stony hearts. The poet was so much disgusted with the fever and the fret of his age that he preferred to give up Christianity and embrace the Greek Paganism with its worship of Nature inhabited by gods and goddesses. He would, then, establish a spiritual communion with Nature and not feel alienated.
Form:
The sonnet is fashioned after the Miltonic sonnet. As such, it consists of two parts: the octave and the sestet. The octave has two quatrains and the sestet two tercets. There is a pause at the end of each quatrain. The turn of thought falls after the octave. The rhyme-pattern of this sonnet is as follows: abbaabbacdcdcd.
Diction:
The poem is remarkable for its lyrical flow, poetic beauty and excellence of craftsmanship. The graphic picture of the sea baring her bosom to the moon and the winds upgathered like sleeping flowers, the appropriate use of the Greek mythological allusions, and the simplicity and monosyllabic nature of words—these are some noticeable features of this poem. The poem composed under the laws of poetic beauty and poetic truth has high seriousness in thought and grandeur in diction and style.
Moral lesson of the poem:
This poem shows Wordsworth's disgust with the materialistic world and its ways, and expresses his essential faith in the greatness of Nature.
An attack of gross Materialism:
The sonnet is a sea-sathing attack on the gross materialism and ironiquent moral and spiritual decay of the people of his times. The poet laments:
"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...….”
Love for Nature:
These lines testify how much Wordsworth loved Nature. Here he reminds us that Nature has something for us which no worldly thing can provide. He says that Nature gives us spiritual pleasure and peace.
Conclusion:
Thus, we can say that the world is too much with us in one of the very important poems of Wordsworth written on Miltonic sonnet patterns.
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