Hi Everyone!! This article will share The World Is Too Much With Us Questions & Answers.
In my previous post, I shared with you the line-wise summary of this poem so, make sure to check that post as well. It is a sonnet written by William Wordsworth and stresses on the importance of emotion and connection with nature.
The World Is Too Much With Us Questions & Answers
Question 1: What is the meaning of the phrase “The world is too much with us”?
Answer: “The world is too much with us” can be interpreted as, people have become too concerned with worldly, material things and have the least concern for nature. Wordsworth was a romantic poet who stressed on the importance of emotion and connection with nature. In fact, romanticism meant a return to nature and an escape from the contamination of modern civilization. Wordsworth was concerned that people were becoming materialistic during his time. Industrialization was happening, thus causing people to “give their hearts away.”
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Question 2: Read the passage given below and answer the following questions.
‘The world is too much………..hearts away, a sordid boon!’
(a) What is the central idea of the poem?
Answer: The central idea of the poem is to live in harmony with nature and appreciate.
(b) How do we lay waste our powers?
Answer: 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.
(c) Why does man see ‘little in nature’ according to the poet?
Answer: According to the poet, man believes that there is little to gain from spending time amidst nature than spending money and time to fulfill our materialistic demands.
(d) What does the poet call a ‘sordid boon’?
Answer: The poet calls the loss of harmony with nature with our increasing materialistic demands a ‘sordid boon’.
(e) From the given extract, find a word which means the same as ‘shameful’.
Answer: The word ‘sordid’ from the passage means the same as shameful.
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Question 3: Explain:
“The winds that will be……………we are out of tune.”
Answer: The speaker appears to be 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. At present, the winds are not blowing so they seem to him to be gathered in a bundle like sleeping flowers. Since he is standing in a place overlooking the ocean naturally, the images of Proteus and Triton occur to him.
The World Is Too Much With Us Questions & Answers
Question 4: Why does the poet use the pronouns ‘we’ and ‘us ‘in the poem?
Answer: The poet uses the pronouns ‘we’ and ‘us’ to suggest that it is not just him or some other person. Instead, it is people all over the world and their materialistic demands which have thrown us out of harmony with nature.
Question 5: Explain
“This Sea that bares her………………we are out of tune.”
Answer: The speaker here tells the reader that everything in nature, including the sea and the winds, is gathered up in a powerful connection with which humanity is ‘out of tune.’ Humans are not experiencing nature as they should. The sea and the wind are two aspects of nature and stand as representatives for everything in the natural world. At present, the winds are not blowing 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.
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Question 6: Who is a pagan and why does Wordsworth mention him/her in the poem?
Answer: The poet chooses the pagan world because they were close to nature and knew how to respect and cherish nature. The poet would rather be a pagan who worships an outdated religion so that when he gazes out on the ocean, he might feel less saddened. 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.
Question 7: Identify the figure of speech in the given sentences:
(a) The world is too much with us.
Answer: Alliteration
(b) The sea that bares her bosom to the moon.
Answer: Personification
(c) We have given our hearts away.
Answer: Metaphor
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The World Is Too Much With Us Questions & Answers
Question 8: According to Wordsworth, with what are we ‘out of tune’?
Answer: According to Wordsworth, with the increasing pursuit for materialistic things, we fail to appreciate the nature around us. Very often we destroy it to fulfil for our desires which leads to disharmony between us and nature.
Question 9: What powers is the poet referring to when he says ‘we lay waste our powers’?
Answer: Wordsworth sees 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.
Question 10: What does the phrase ‘late and soon’ mean?
Answer: 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.
Question 11: Why does the poet choose to be a pagan?
Answer: The poet chooses to be a pagan worshipping nature than worshipping materialistic things. He believes that doing so he might feel less saddened when he looks at the ocean and also be able to see the mythological gods Proteus and Triton.
So, these were The World Is Too Much With Us Questions & Answers.