William Wordsworth The World is Too Much With Us as a Romantic Poem

The World is Too Much With Us (1807) is a sonnet written by William Wordsworth published in a collection of Poem, in Two Volumes (1807). The sonnet encapsulates the protest against the material world and delineates the ways a man has lost its connection with the world of nature. Romanticism criticises the world of material power, capitalism and the advancement of industrialisation. 

The sonnet captures the essence of Romantic inquiry into the relationship between man and nature, criticism of materialistic attitude, tranquil power of nature, sensuousness, humanism and individualism. 

As a Romantic poem, the sonnet inquires man’s relationship with the world of nature. The poet declares that mankind has become materialistic towards wealth , gains, needs and their desires. The growing state of capitalism and the need for wealth has changed the mindset of man where the poet states that “Getting and spending” some capital gains only to waste it the next day. He interrogates that the impact of such mindset has disconnected man from the appreciating the world of nature. Man has become blind to the material power that he has lost his senses to feel the landscape of nature. 

He further inquires that man’s relationship with the nature is diminishing. He portrays that man has exchanged nature for his capital gains meaning that man has replaced nature with wealth and power. He has become rational and logical to attain power and wealth that he has suppressed his vital flow of emotions and feelings. Hence, the poet institute that the suppression of emotions and feelings has led to the inability to connect with the tranquil landscape of nature. He elaborates that man has become blind to the powerful aspects of nature that can give peace and the lives of man has no rhythm with the flow of nature. As a consequence, the poet states that nature is unable to offer any of its good traits to man’s consciousness. 

The Romantics critique the society that is materialistic. With the influence of French Revolution, the Romantics are also revolutionary in a sense that they detach away from the materialistic society. They provokes and gives criticism about man who has failed to communicate with the world of nature. The sonnet clearly depicts that man lacks emotional bondage with the world of nature because his consciousness is filled with plausible possibilities to obtain capital gains. 

As a Romantic poem, the sonnet projects the tranquil state of nature. It is indirectly established in the sonnet while Wordsworth critiques man’s materialistic mindset. He paints the picaresque tranquil state of  the ocean that shines the moonlight on the surface in similitude to the flowers whose petals are folded up in the cold. It shows the powerful forces of the “Sea” and the romanticise sight of moonlight ascribed to the nature. 

The Romantics are sensuous in their writing. John Keats has been called as a sensuous poet among the Romantics. In the sonnet, Wordsworth uses phrases such as “see” , “sight” and “hear” reflects the sensuousness of the poet. Sensuousness is also another element of Romantic writing because they wanted to evoke the dead senses of an individual so to help cherish and connect with the nature. Wordsworth has used this senses with a purpose to teach and guide man that the senses of a man has been lost and he is unable to see and hear the good effects of nature that it provides to man. 

Furthermore, Wordsworth has established humanism and individualism as the sole power of Romanticism. He magnifies these two qualities in his writing where he projects that man’s logical reasoning has detached man from his emotional bondage to the world of nature. Here, Wordsworth reinstates the humanism where it is the feelings and emotions that makes a man human being. One can critically observe that these emotions of man have been exchanged for plausible capital gains but one can see Wordsworth installing humanism to make a man realise who he is. 

Wordsworth also magnifies the power of individualism in the sonnet where he uses phrases such as “I” and “me” that represents individualism. He uses phrases “We”, “ours” , “us” to represent the society. One can clearly assess the tussle between individualism and society. He criticises the society for being too materialistic and he highlights the individual state who enjoys the serene flow of tranquil life of nature. Wordsworth celebrates the power of individualism since he follows no masses blindly to obtain the organic relationship with the nature. He uses his senses to see the Greek God Proteus or Triton emerging out of the sea as he is watching the sea peacefully alone.