The World Is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth In the churchyard of Grassmere’s Saint Oswald’s Church, lies a simple tombstone laid in reverence to William Wordsworth; now one of the most visited literary shrines in the world. “The World is Too Much With Us” is one of many excellent poems written by William Wordsworth during the early 1800’s. The poem’s theme revolves directly upon the material inclination of the world, and the tragic result of human kind losing sight of all things truly meaningful. When reading such texts based upon such controversial (and at that time) revolutionary ideals, especially when expressed in such remorse and disgust; one can begin to wonder on what authority the poet stands to address all humankind in such manner, diminishing practically all but himself. What right does he have, and what value should we place on his opinion? Oxford Dictionary defines the term ‘value’ as: ‘how useful or important something is’. Today renowned as a great poet, William Wordsworth biographically experienced more than his fair share of lows; including orphaned by the age of 13. Culturally he was exposed to one of the largest spread of Christianity & bore witness to the Industrial revolution. Considering the circumstances the poet has experienced gives more understanding to what influenced such ideals & writings. It seems all William Wordsworth had gained and more so lost; allowed him to see life in more perspective than what others did, resulting in essence a more prioritised life; these priorities of the correct manner. Reading poems with a context of biographical & cultural knowledge adds value to our view of the poet (Wordsworth), to their poems & to the ideals they represent in them. William Wordsworth was born on the 7th April 1770 in a fine Georgian house in Cockermouth. In essence Wordsworth’s life began in the midst of luxury and riches. All was soon taken away when he lost his mother at the age of eight, and later on losing his father at the age of thirteen. Having no-one to attend to him he attended the Hawkshead Grammar school and lodged with whoever would take him in at varied times. Biographically, though Wordsworth may not clearly remember all, there would definitely have been a comparison of his rich life with that of his new ‘poor’ one. Wordsworth to an extent would have been able to see what was gained, and as well as what was lost in both types of life.
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, in the south of England on September 21, 1866. Wells was not born into a wealthy family. Sarah Wells was born on October 10, 1822. As a job Sarah Wells became a domestic servant. When Wells was a child he got hurt playing cricket this was a future altering injury because while he wasn’t able to do anything he started to read a lot which gave him the love for literature and writing. Joseph and Sarah Wells felt that the only thing their son was going to be was a clerk in a store. In 1874-1880 Wells got his childhood education at Thomas Morley’s Commercial Academy (Abrams 10+; “Wells, H. G.” 122).
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 for humanity, but the mentality of “getting and spending” clouds the perspective of humanity. Wordsworth does not see us as incapable, in fact he describes our abilities as “powers”. “We lay waste our powers” is blamed on the earlier mentioned attitude of “getting and spending”. The appetite mankind has for devouring all that is around clouds our perspective as to what is being sacrificed for the progress. The “sordid boon” we have “given are hearts” is the materialistic progress of mankind. Humanity has become self-absorbed and can no longer think clearly. The destructiveness society has on the environment will proceed unchecked and relentless like the “winds that will be howling at all hours”.
The World Is Too Much with Us, written by William Wordsworth in 1807 is a warning to his generation, that they are losing sight of what is truly important in this world: nature and God. To some, they are one in the same. As if lacking appreciation for the natural gifts of God is not sin enough, we add to it the insult of pride for our rape of His land. Wordsworth makes this poetic message immortal with his powerful and emotional words. Let us study his powerful style: 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! (Lines 1 - 4) Materialism, wasteful selfishness, prostitution! These are the images that these lines bring to me! Yet, is it not more true today than in Wordsworth’s time, that we are a culture of people who simply consume and waste?
“Upon Westminster Bridge” was written in 1802, which was a significant year as this was at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The revolution had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions in the UK. Wordsworth was from a wealthy family who lived in Lake District. He was greatly interested in poetry, and soon became the Poet-Laureate – a poet of the Queen. This background of his can be said to have a huge relationship with his poem “Upon Westminster Bridge”. Wordsworth did not have many social or financial problems, which in turn made him learn to appreciate more of nature and the real world. It was said that Wordsworth loved to tour around and did no...
He was open about how he felt about life and what his life was like. Also, Wordsworth wrote poems about the events going on around him ? for instance the French Revolution. Mainly, Wordsworth wrote about nature, however, rarely used simple descriptions in his work. Instead, Wordsworth wrote complexly, for example in his poem ?
A major proponent of Romanticism, Wordsworth’s influence can be seen in Whitman’s poetry through a Romantic connection. Despite differences in form, one can see William Wordsworth’s influence on Walt Whitman in Wordsworth’s preface to Lyrical Ballads and Whitman’s “Song of Myself” through their portrayal of the common man and their use of language, which is Romantic in nature. Moores argues that the case is not. He states, “Although both poets had an intense distrust of language.they nevertheless believed language, particularly their own poetic language, could be a stimulus of consciousness expansion”(“Gangs” 96).
Through time, it has become widely known because of its translations into many languages. It holds many American ideals that people have come to live by. He was inspired by a conversation he had with a friend about the soul. Through that conversation, the world gained a great piece of literature. Through its stanzas, Longfellow’s poem
Nature’s brilliance During the literary Romanticism period, there was a big upsurge in the attention and importance of nature. This is because the mavericks and writers of this time laid great prominence not only upon the splendor and grandeur of nature, but the sovereignty of the natural world. To a certain extent, these romanticists viewed nature the way a devout Christian would view Jesus. A great example of this borderline zealous obsession with nature is beautifully displayed in “The World is Too Much with Us” by William Wordsworth.
William Wordsworth was born in England in 1770, Wordsworth attended Cambridge University and afterwards went on a walking tour of France and Switzerland. When war broke out in 1793 he returned to England, moving in with his sister Dorothy in Dorset. It was during this time he discovered his calling as a poet with a principal theme of the common man close to nature. In 1798 he was central figure in the advent of Romantic Poetry, together with Coleridge writing the Lyrical Ballads, which began with Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner" and ended with Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey".
The poet William Wordsworth was born on the 7th of April 1770 in northwestern England in the Lake District. He was born into a relatively affluent family and had four siblings. He was closest to his sister Dorothy (in both age and relationship). As a child, Wordsworth developed a love for all things of nature. This love is readily apparent in the majority of his work. Wordsworth’s literacy and love of books was also established early and was promulgated mostly by his father (usually with an emphasis on poetry and plays). His mother did, however, initially teach him to read. After her death 1778, when he was seven years old, he attended a grammar school in Lancashire. It was at this point where he was largely apart from his family.
William Wordsworth is a British poet who is associated with the Romantic movement of the early 19th century. Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. Wordsworth’s mother died when he was seven years old, and he was an orphan at 13. This experience shapes much of his later work. Despite Wordsworth’s losses, he did well at Hawkshead Grammar School, where he firmly established his love of poetry. After Hawkshead, Wordsworth studied at St. John’s College in Cambridge and before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, an experience that influenced both his poetry.
He is writing the poem as if he were an object of the earth, and what it is like to once live and then die only to be reborn. On the other hand, Wordsworth takes images of meadows, fields, and birds and uses them to show what gives him life. Life being whatever a person needs to move on, and without those objects, they can't have life. Wordsworth does not compare himself to these things like Shelley, but instead uses them as an example of how he feels about the stages of living. Starting from an infant to a young boy into a man, a man who knows death is coming and can do nothing about it because it's part of life.
One of the most famous poets in literary history is that of William Wordsworth. He lived between the years of 1770-1850. He was a very strong poet and many of his works have some degree of a pessimistic view to them. They could be understood after the hard life he led. He saw the French Revolution at its height and wrote several poems about it. He had an illegitimate daughter with a woman in France. When he returned back to England he married Mary Hutchinson, who gave him two sons and another daughter.
Wordsworth is deeply involved with the complexities of nature and human reaction to it. To Wordsworth nature is the revelation of god through viewing everything that is harmonious or beautiful in nature. Man’s true character is then formed and developed through participation in this balance. Wordsworth had the view that people are at their best when they are closest to nature. Being close creates harmony and order. He thought that the people of his time were getting away from that.
"The Poetry of William Wordsworth." SIRS Renaissance 20 May 2004: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 06 February 2010.