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Bailey Hill
Mrs. Boyd
MYP English 9
May 9, 2013
William Wordsworth, one of the most well-known romantic poets in history, was
almost entirely inspired by his environment. Although he was considered a romance poet,
he often wrote about the subtle beauty in nature and the growing ignorance of the human
race in regards to such beauty. The wonders of nature served as a reoccurring motif for
many of Wordsworth’s works in hopes of bringing attention to the things that he had
learned to appreciate. Several events throughout his lifetime contributed to his fondness
of all things natural, despite the increasingly industrial society he was surrounded by.
William Wordsworth was greatly influenced by his surroundings and the events taking
place throughout his lifetime and he used those events to bring forgotten elements of his
environment back to attention.
William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on April 7th, 1770.
It was not until William’s last years of school when he began to realize nature. In 1795,
Wordsworth moved to the country to devote himself to “plain living and high
thinking”(Rosenberg 802). There, he reunited with his sister, Dorothy, who helped him
further appreciate the beauty in nature. She herself was rather fond of writing, and her
talent in the literary field combined with her “exquisite regard for common things” served
as an inspiration to William, helping him notice small details (Rosenberg 802). He would
occasionally use Dorothy’s material in his own work, including the elegantly written
“The World is Too Much With Us”.
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As any reader knows, writing, similar to art, is in the eye of the beholder. Several
literary critics, each with their own perspective on his works, have “professional” ideas
and opinions of William Wordsworth’s writing. Bryan Aubrey writes, “Wordsworth was
a poet of visionary possibility… he was gifted with a sort of sight that enabled him to…
sense the unity of all life” (“The World is Too Much With Us”). Aubrey notices
Wordsworth’s unique vision of nature and his expressiveness in his poetry. On “The
World is Too Much With Us”, he states “… he [Wordsworth] tries to explain about…
connections with nature lost and regained” (“The World is Too Much With Us”). Aubrey
understands Wordsworth’s motive in this poem, which was to bring attention to the
smaller things in nature that society has grown to ignore over time. Through his criticism
of the poem “The World is Too Much With Us”, he is able to interpret the meaning
behind the beautifully crafted words and share it with his own readers, spreading
Wordsworth’s initial message and achieving his overall goal.
“The World is Too Much With Us” is full of meaning hidden beneath the old
English and strange allusions. William Wordsworth was one with nature during the time
of his best works, and was able to connect with the natural world more so than the
average person of his time. In “The World is Too Much With Us”, Wordsworth is
making a complaint about the materialism of the world around him and people’s
fascination with the artificial. He claims that modern day society has become out of touch
with the organic world around them and has become caught up in the extravagance of the
English Industrial Revolution. This is particularly interesting as in this poem,
Wordsworth describes a world that is very similar to society today: people becoming so
engrossed in the newest technology that nature fails to intrigue them anymore. It is
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strange to think that even in the late 18th century, technology greatly influenced society
and William Wordsworth recognized the ignorance of humankind earlier than anyone
else. Wordsworth’s poetry was extremely significant and unique, as he had a perspective
like no other poet of his time.
William Wordsworth was not fond of the industrial revolution that was spreading
throughout Europe during the time his best works of poetry were written. He did his best
to seclude himself from the influences of technology, moving to the country where he
further embraced his love nature. For a man of such insight when it came to nature and an
eye for the things usually too insignificant to notice, he was born in the wrong time
period, an era of ingenuity and progression. Wordsworth wrote most of his poetry in
attempt to bring society out of its technology induced trance and show it the true beauty
in nature that it had become to blind to see. William Wordsworth’s poems had purpose
and importance that was all inspired by his environment and the events occurring at that
time in his life.
William Wordsworth had a great interest in nature and thought it ungrateful of
society to disregard it simply because of the progression of technology at that point in
history. Not only his environment, but also his family and the historical context of his
time were major influences on his work, especially his well-known poem “The World is
Too Much With Us”. He was able to recognize the small things in life that he believed
were significant and aimed to share his perspective with the rest of the world. William
Wordsworth one of the most creative and unique writers of his time, who was not afraid
to share his own opinion through his beautiful poetry.
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Works Cited
Rosenberg, Donna. “World Literature: An Anthology of Great Short Stories, Drama
and Poetry.” Lincolnwood, Ill. U.S.A.: National Textbook, 1992. Print.
“The World is Too Much With Us.” 2011. “Poetry for Students.” Vol. 38. [s.l.]:
Cengage Gale, 2011. 300-15. Print.
“William Wordsworth: Biography.” William Wordsworth: Biography. N.p., n.d. Web.
07 May 2013.
“William Wordsworth’s Lifespan, 1770-1850.” Literature Resource Center. Web. 1
May 2013.
The World Is Too Much With Us
By William Wordsworth
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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.