1. THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US
William Wordsworth

2. WILLIAM WORDSWORTH Born April 7, 1770) Cockermouth, England
Died April 23, 1850 (aged 80) Ambleside, England
Occupation Poet
Literary movement Romanticism
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

3. William Wordsworth
He was born April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumbria, England.
His mother died when he was eight and soon after his father also died, leaving his siblings and he to an orphanage.
His earliest poetry was published in 1793.
He married his childhood friend Mary Hutchinson and had five children together.
He died April 23, 1850 from pleurisy

4. POETRY TIMELINE ROMANTICS 1780-1830 OLD ENGLISH 499- 1066
Dickinson
Whitman
POETRY TIMELINE
Wordsworth
Shelley
Frost
Kunene
Milton
Arnold
Shakespeare
Keats
Thomas
Yeats
Chaucer
Hopkins
Coleridge
OLD ENGLISH
MIDDLE ENGLISH
ROMANTICS
MODERNS
RENAISSANCE
VICTORIANS
THE MOVEMENT
17 CENTURY
AUGUSTANS
GEORGIANS
POST MODERNS
1980

5. What do we mean by “Romantic?”
Not mushy
Not (always) about love
ABOUT nature
ABOUT experience
ABOUT deep feelings (about things)
AGAINST modernism, mass technology, soullessness
AGAINST what was known as the rationalistic takeover
NON-CONFORMIST—in poetry, social and sexual relations, in spirituality, in politics

6. Characteristics of the Romantic Movement in Poetry
References to antiquity (ancient civilisations, myths etc)
Imagery around nature
Discussion about the creative process
Objections are made to materialism and mechanisation

7. The world is too much with us
The world is too much with us; late and soon, a Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; b Little we see in Nature that is ours; b We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! a This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon, a The winds that will be howling at all hours, b And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers, b For this, for everything, we are out of tune; a It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be c A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; d
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea c
HAve glimpses that would make me less forlorn; d Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; c
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. d
OCTAVE
SESTET

8. The world is too much with us;

9. late and soon,

10. Getting and spending,

11. we lay waste our powers;

12. Little we see

13. in Nature that is ours;

14. We have given our hearts away,

15. a sordid boon!

16. This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

17. The winds that will be howling at all hours,

18. And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,

19. For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

20. It moves us not.

21. --Great God! I'd rather be

22. A pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

23. So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

24. Have glimpses

25. that would make me less forlorn;

26. Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

27. Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

28. Poem Paraphrase “The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:”
This reflects his complaint towards the fast pace of the age in the world.
“Little we see in Nature that is ours,
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!”
We are letting our progress in the world take over the wonders of nature to where we don’t notice it. 
“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,”
 Up-gathered like sleeping flowers is an image he uses to make the point of how the “winds that will be howling at all hours” are internal noises, or the noise of industry at all hours. 

29. Poem Paraphrase Cont. “It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;”
The above two lines are the venting of his anger. He’d rather be like a pagan, for instance believing Greek gods, than part of a world that is destroying nature and calling itself Christian. He is not saying he doesn’t believe in God. He just expresses his anger at the world to God.
“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.”
He feels it would be so much simpler to go back the pagan beliefs of the Greeks of giving in to all things of nature. Proteus was one of the mythological Greek gods of the sea, and Triton was the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite whose horn was a conch shell for controlling the waters.

30. Elements seen in this poem include:
Imagination
Nature
Symbols
Emotion
Self
And Individualism

31. Tone and Mood
In William Wordsworth's sonnet "The World Is Too Much with Us" he conveys his frustration about the state in which he sees the world.
Throughout the poem the speaker repeatedly states his irritation with how out of touch the world has become with nature.
With his dissatisfaction comes a harsh tone that criticizes the Industrial Revolution and the toll it has taken on the environment.
Wordsworth’s mood throughout the overall poem is one of frustration and irritation.

32. Rhetorical Situation
William Wordsworth is speaking, speaking to everybody in the world, about the industrial revolution, and it was to explain his frustration with the world.
Talking to you. We are being spoken to directly because he is using the term “we”.

33. Imagination Wordsworth’s expression is dreamlike.
He expresses possibility and wishful thoughts.
“I'd rather be”
“So might I”
He also makes references to the Gods.
“Proteus rising from the sea”
“Triton blow his wreathèd horn”

34. Nature There are obvious references to nature in this poem.
The poem itself is a call to appreciate the beauty in nature than many disregard and neglect.
Specific references to nature are highlighted in green below:
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.

35. Emotion
Because of Wordsworth’s attachment to nature, the reader is bombarded with the speaker’s expression of emotion.
The reference to the heart implies a disgust the speaker feels at the lack of emotion in others.
“We have given our hearts away”
The exclamation at the end of that line suggests a strong emotional movement.
“a sordid boon!”
Again, in line 9, the speaker notes his disgust that emotion does triumph over the reader’s connection to the corrupt “world”
“It moves us not.”
Followed by another exclamation in which the speaker proclaims his preference to experience and appreciate nature.
“Great God! I'd rather be A pagan suckled in a creed outworn”

36. Symbols
The most apparent symbol in this poem is the reference in line 1 to “the world.”
“The world” is a reference to anything that is not nature.
Wordsworth would have seen this as corruption, therefore, “world” is a symbol for corruption in Wordsworth’s poem.
“Nature,” on the other hand, is an opposing symbol.
It is surrounded by images of peace and harmony.
Wordsworth even provides nature with an image of strength.
He says “we lay waste our powers” when we are not appreciative of nature.
Nature, therefore is a symbol for righteousness, purity, peace, and strength in Wordsworth’s poem.

37. Self
The presence of “self” in this poem is simply stated and easily recognized.
The poem is told through a first person narrative.
The speaker refers to himself as “I” and the reader as “you” or “us.”
The poem is an intimate conversational piece between the reader and the poet, whose ideals shine through the lyric.

38. Individualism
Individualism and the idea of the poet as a “romantic hero” is another element that can be easily pointed out through Wordsworth’s poem.
The poem is at once “bold, suggestive, and experimental” in tone and quality through its wild exclamations and its form which closely resembles natural speech patterns.
The poem also suggests that the poet is “inspired,” having great knowledge and a keen understanding of the essence and beauty of nature, while the people surrounding him remain ignorant; trapped within the confines of a corrupt “world.”

39. Analysis of The Poem
The speaker complains that "the world" is too overwhelming for us to appreciate it.
We're so concerned about time and money that we use up all our energy.
People want to accumulate material possessions, so they see nothing in Nature that they can "own.“
According to the speaker, we've sold our souls to our possessions.

40. We should be able to appreciate beautiful events like the moon shining over the ocean and the blowing of strong winds, but we can no longer connect with nature
The speaker would rather be a pagan who worships an out-dated religion so that when he gazes out on the ocean, he might feel less sad. If he were a pagan, he'd see wild mythological gods like Proteus, who can take many shapes, and Triton, who looks like a mer-man.