Poetry Response #4 "The World Is Too Much With Us''

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.

Response: 

Interestingly, the title of this poem could hold a strong variety of interpretations; in addition, I noticed this title specifically has more words than the titles of previous poems I have read and created responses for. I believe more words within the title of the poem gives a larger selection or variety of interpretations. The speaker in the poem starts the poem with the title of the poem. By now, I am familiar with that technique from reading poems where the speaker starts off the poem with the title of the poem. Perhaps the poet did that to restate his thesis/idea that is presented in within the poem. The speaker touches upon various images that bring a vibe of the spring season, or nature, and how we don't see all we can see in nature.

Personification is the first literary technique I noticed in this poem. A few examples of personification are “This sea that bares her bosom to the moon” and “The winds howling at all hours” to show nature reacting to the way it is treated by humans, giving nature the human attributes of having a bosom and howling. There is an example of personification in the poem that could also work as a simile, “And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;” flowers are alive but don't sleep in the same sense that a human might. There are two allusions in this poem, “Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;” and “Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.” both are related to the topic of nature within the world.

The speaker’s tone appears very affected by what he is seeing in the world, and it made me feel very thoughtful about the topic and how we should pay more attention to these beautiful things that happen everyday in nature. Nature has a different tone in the poem; nature is very doubtful of how it is treated which gives me a very somber feeling. Nature could also feel dull and sad. The speaker of the poem sounds sincere and honest about the topic. The sincerity gives me a feeling of hope. We are so close and connected to the world, but fail to appreciate its beauty and intimacy.