The World is too much with us: -
Meaning of the title
Text of the poem
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. –Greek 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.
Glossary
Sordid = aspects of human nature, like-immorality and greed etc.
Boon = blessing
Bosom = chest
Howling to make a loud cry or sound
Sleeping flowers = here, with withered flowers
Out of tone = here, we are living fast life that ignores the beauty of nature
Pagan = a person who is totally depends on nature
Suckled = raised\
Outworn = out dated
Lea = an open grassy area
Forlorn = san
Proteus = a character in Greek mythology, who would predicts or foresee future
Triton = a sea God in Greek mythology, whose half is a man and half body was dolphin. He was famous for to blowing a horn or shell in the sea.
Wreathed = covered
Summary of the poem
Little we see in
nature that is ours
Theme of the poem
Critical appreciation
Form
Wordsworth wrote several varieties of poems. He composed this poem in sonnet form.” The World is too much with us “takes the form of Petrarchan sonnet. A petrarchan sonnet is divided into to parts,-
- Octave
- Sestet
In this passage, first of all, we explained what is sonnet? And explain octave, sestet in shorts.
Sonnet: -
A sonnet is a 14 lines poem with one idea following throughout the text.There are many types of sonnets, such as petrarchan (Italian sonnet) or Shakespearean sonnet,, ( English sonnet).
Octave:-
Sestet: -
Rhyming scheme
Figures of speech
Wordsworth used metaphors, similes, personification, assonance and imagery in this poem.
Personification
Personification is to attribute human characteristics to non-human or even inanimate objects. In this poem ,such as example of personification.
Simile
Simile is to compare something to another thing to let the readers know what it is. In this line simile is used –“And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;”
Metaphor
There are two metaphor used in ‘The World is too much with us ‘. One of the Metaphor is in this line,-“sukled in a creed outworn.” Here creed stands for mother that nurses her child.
Imagery
Imagery increases the richness and clarity of the poem. Poet uses this device to make their poem meaningful. In this sonnet Imagery used as-“winds that will be howling”,” to the sense of touch” and Proteus rising from the sea.”
Meter
“The world is too much with us” used Iambic pentameter. It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. Five iambs mean ten syllables.
Conclusion
Overall, the poem is well organized with appropriate diction. He is crafted this sonnet with proper consideration of music and diction and rhythm. All these qualities of this poem make it most famous poem among the readers.
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