"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In it, Wordsworth criticises the world of the

First Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going fr ...

for being absorbed in

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism ...

and distancing itself from

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

. Composed circa 1802, the poem was first published in ''

Poems, in Two Volumes ''Poems, in Two Volumes'' is a collection of poetry by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, published in 1807. It contains many notable poems, including: * "Resolution and Independence" * "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (sometimes anthol ...

'' (1807). Like most Italian sonnets, its 14 lines are written in iambic pentameter.

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In the early 19th century, Wordsworth wrote several sonnets blasting what he perceived as "the decadent material cynicism of the time." "The World Is Too Much with Us" is one of those works. It reflects his view that humanity must get in touch with people to progress spiritually. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ''a-b-b-a'', ''a-b-b-a'', ''c-d-c-d'', ''c-d''. This Italian or

Petrarchan The Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it was not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets.Spiller, Michael R. G. The Developm ...

sonnet uses the last six lines (sestet) to answer the first eight lines (octave). The first eight lines (octave) are the problems and the next six (sestet) are the solution. The poem expresses a revolt against the industrial revolution and criticizes the materialistic approach of man. It also criticizes ignoring nature 'little we see in nature that is ours'. There is escapism in the sestet of the sonnet and poet wishes to be a pagan than a modern man.

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Further reading