Hi Everyone!! This article will share The World Is Too Much With Us Line-Wise Summary.
The sonnet is written by William Wordsworth who was a romantic poet and stressed the importance of emotion and connection with nature. He was concerned that people were becoming materialistic during his time. Industrialization was happening, thus causing people to “give their hearts away.” Go through its line-wise summary which is mentioned below. I have also shared the Bangle Sellers Stanza-Wise Summary and Bangle Sellers Questions & Answers so, make sure to check these posts as well.
The World Is Too Much With Us Line-Wise Summary
(Lines 1 – 4)
“The world is too much……………… away, a sordid boon!”
“The world is too much with us” means that people have become too concerned with worldly, material things and have the least concern for nature. The phrase ‘late and soon’ means that materialism has been a problem in the past and will continue to be a problem in the future if we do not work in harmony with nature. We are always trying to get more and spend even more than that but all of this is a waste because we are losing harmony with nature. The poet sees that people are obsessed with money and manmade objects. In the line ‘we lay waste our powers’ he means that these people can no longer identify with the natural world. The poet believes that we have given our hearts (the center of ourselves) away in exchange for money and material wealth. The poet calls the loss of link with nature and material gain a “sordid boon”.
(Lines 5 – 8)
“This Sea that bares………………………we are out of tune.”
It appears that the speaker is standing by himself looking out at the ocean. Here he claims that we can no longer or appreciate the two aspects of nature – The sea and the winds because we are so involved in getting and spending: making money and buying things, and then the greed to make more money to buy more things. The winds are not blowing at present, so they seem to him to be gathered in a bundle like sleeping flowers. He says that humanity is ‘out of tune’ which means it is detached from nature.
The World Is Too Much With Us Line-Wise Summary
(Lines 9 – 12)
“It moves us not…………………………………make me less forlorn.”
The poet says that humanity is detached from nature and as a result, the natural world leaves no impact on us. The poet says that he would rather be a pagan who worships an outdated religion so that when he gazes out on the ocean, he might feel less saddened. He chooses the pagan world because they were close to nature and knew how to respect and cherish nature.
(Lines 13 – 14)
“Have sight of Proteus………………………..blow his wreathed horn.”
Since he is standing in a place overlooking the ocean naturally, the images of Proteus and Triton occur to him. If he were a pagan, he would see wild mythological gods like Proteus, who can take many shapes, and Triton, who looks like a merman. Triton was a son of the Greek god of the sea – Poseidon and he had a conch shell that he used to blow into in order to excite or calm the waves.
So, this was ‘The World Is Too Much With Us’ Line-Wise Summary.