In his 1802 Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth attempted to define a new “class” of poetry. It originated in the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” and was produced by individuals who had “thought long and deeply.”
Ingrained in this poetics were depictions of rustic life. As Wordsworth explained, in these venues “the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity, are less under restraint, and speak a plainer and more emphatic language.”
In 1807, when Wordsworth composed “The World is Too Much With Us,” he would epitomize the poetics of Romanticism described in his earlier Preface. Those elements include plain language, praise for nature and heartfelt speech.
Using a Traditional Form for Nontraditional Ideas
After denouncing what he called “the gaudiness and inane phraseology of many modern writers,” the poet composed a classic Italian sonnet, using common English to decry the damaging effects of 19th century materialism.
As a herald of the Romantic Movement, Wordsworth used the traditional sonnet form to express nontraditional philosophical and literary beliefs. In “The World is Too Much With Us,” he injects passion into poetry, reversing the crisp intellectual style of the day. He espouses a re-connection with the natural world and laments a society “out of tune” with its natural state; a people that gave away its “heart” in pursuit of material commerce.
The Argument of the Octave
In the octave or first eight lines, the poet explains how English society has become divorced from the essential core of its being. Using clear language that resonates with the ordinary man or woman of those times, Wordsworth introduces a “world” of “getting and spending.” The consequence of these twin activities is a weakening of the individual’s power as attention focuses on acquisition and away from natural rhythms. “We have given our hearts away,” exclaims the speaker in a passionate voice that reflects the Romantic style.
This loss is likened to an impotency, using nature for a trope. Losing heart is akin to the sea and “howling” winds, those forceful agents of nature, being reduced to “sleeping flowers.” All vitality is depleted; natural vigor comes to a standstill. In its stead is a droopy-headed, pretty face, that “sleeping flower.”
The Volta’s Conclusion
The sonnet turns on line nine with a new rhyme scheme, a fresh view and a conclusion. After proclaiming an absence of sensation (“It moves us not”) and invoking the name of the Christian icon (“Great God!”), the persona chooses its opposite - non-traditional pantheism.
Ever the wordsmith, Wordsworth chooses his diction with brilliant effectiveness. His persona prefers the existence of “a / Pagan suckled in a creed outworn,” immediately summoning in readers a vision of wild animals nursing their young. His use of onomatopoeia births a new world, one that is in direct contrast to the materialistic cosmos introduced in the octave. The diction turns to mythology, invoking the classic sea gods, Proteus and Triton.
Legendary Idols and Elemental Connections
Wordsworth comes full circle. The sonnet opens by bemoaning the present-day world and its impotent citizens. The volta quickly turns away from that situation by harkening to its pagan roots, the idyllic pastoral surging with vitality. One world – ineffective and heartless – is cast aside. A new world, which is ironically, a primitive one, peopled with legendary idols and elemental connections with nature, is proffered. The resolution is not so much a moving forward as a regressive wistfulness for what once was. In this, the sonnet is a microcosm for the elementary tenets of Romanticism.
References Cited:
Full text of “The World is Too Much with Us”
William Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads, 1802
