The World Is Too Much With Us
....... William Wordsworth......
"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In it, Wordsworth criticises the world of the First Industrial Revolution for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature. Composed circa 1802, the poem was first published in Poems, in Two Volumes (1807). Like most Italian sonnets, its 14 lines are written in iambic pentameter.
The World Is Too Much With Us
TEXT:
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.
SUMMARY:
Wordsworth gives a fatalistic view of the world, past and future. The words "late and soon" in the opening verse describe how the past and future are included in his characterization of mankind. The author knows the potential of humanity's "powers," but fears it is clouded by the mentality of "getting and spending." The "sordid boon" we have "given our hearts" is the materialistic progress of mankind. The detriment society has on the environment will proceed unchecked and relentless like the "winds that will be howling at all hours". The speaker complains that "the world" is too overwhelming for us to appreciate it, and that people are so concerned about time and money that they use up all their energy. These people want to accumulate material goods, so they see nothing in Nature that they can "own", and have sold their souls.
Unlike society, Wordsworth does not see nature as a commodity. The verse "Little we see in Nature that is ours", shows that coexisting is the relationship envisioned. We should be able to appreciate beautiful events like the moon shining over the ocean and the blowing of strong winds, but it is almost as if humans are on a different wavelength from Nature. The "little we see in Nature that is ours" exemplifies the removed sentiment man has for nature, being obsessed with materialism and other worldly objects. Wordsworth's Romanticism is best shown through his appreciation of nature in these lines and his woes for man and its opposition to nature. The relationship between Nature and man appears to be at the mercy of mankind because of the vulnerable way nature is described. The verse "This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon", gives the vision of a feminine creature opening herself to the heavens above. The phrase "sleeping flowers" might also describe how nature is being overrun unknowingly and is helpless.
The verse "I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less forlorn", reveals Wordsworth's perception of himself in society: a visionary romantic more in touch with nature than his contemporaries. The speaker would rather be a pagan who worships an outdated religion so that when he gazes out on the ocean (as he's doing now), he might feel less sad. If he were a pagan, he would have glimpses of the great green meadows that would make him less dejected. He'd see wild mythological gods like Proteus, who can take many shapes, and Triton, who can soothe the howling sea waves.
Notes :
1. It is a Sonnet
2. The world is too much with us - here 'us' refers to All the Humans
3. We lay waste our powers in Getting and Spending.
4. Sordid Boon refers to Miserable Blessing
5. 'It moves us not' refers to 'Beauty of Nature.'
6. Pegan means A person with no Religion
7. Suckled means Brought up.
8. Creed means Religious beliefs.
9. Outworn means Outdated
10. 'Proteus refers to 'The Greek God of Sea'.
11. 'Triton' refers to 'Merman' son of Sea' God.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
1."The world is too much with us" is a/an--
A) Ode
B) Elegy
C) Sonnet
D) Song
2. "The world is too much with us" -here us' refers to?
A) The poet and his beloved
B) The poet and his friend
C) The poet of England
D) Humans
3. "We lay waste our powers"- in what do we waste our powers?
A) Getting and Spending
B) Fighting with ourselves
C) Aimless efforts
D) Excessive greed
4. "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon"- what is meant by sordid boon?
A) Expected blessings
B) Unexpected blessings
C) Miserable blessings
D) None of the above
5. "It moves us not" - what does not move us?
A) The beauty of nature
B) The suffering of people
C) The enjoyment of people
D) None of these
6. "I would rather be a pagan"- here the word pegan means?
A) A person with no particular nationality
B) A person with no religion
C) A person having no personality
D) None of the above
7. ".......suckled in a creed outworn "- here the word suckled means?
A) Shaken
B) Seeking
C) Brought up
D) Swallowed
8. .......suckled in a creed outworn "- here the word creed means?
A) Religious beliefs
B) Complexities
C) Belief of a pagan
D) All the above
9. ".......suckled in a creed outworn "- here the word outworn means?
A) Complex
B) Outdated
C) Unbelievable
D) None of these
10. "Have sight of the Proteus rising from the sea;" who is Proteus?
A) Greek God of Sea
B) Roman God of Sea
C) Pagan God of Sea
D) None of the above
11. "Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn" who is Triton?
A) A Sea God
B) A merman, son of Sea God
C) A Greek God of music
D) A Roman God of Music
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