The World Is Too Much With Us

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Explication of “The World Is Too Much With Us”
“The World Is Too Much With Us,” a sonnet written by William Wordsworth is about the disconnection of mankind with nature. He also writes about the carelessness and wastefulness of humans. Wordsworth continues with a plea to God that it be changed.
Beginning with the title of the sonnet, “The World Is Too Much With Us,” implies that the world is too busy with people. Nature has been overlooked in the mist of everyone’s hectic lives.
The title is repeated in the first line, then “late and soon.” These words suggest that the nature has been overlooked in the past, and will continue to be overlooked in the future. “Getting and spending” refers to the materialistic, commercialized world. Humans have become so involved in technology that they are ignoring the glorious natural world. In this line, when Wordsworth writes “we lay waste our powers,” he is directly stating that because of the “getting and spending,” humankind is not living up to its potential.
“Little we see in Nature that is ours” reveals the disconnection humans have with nature. Furthermore, humans have no connection with God. Nature is a creation of God, and the two are one and the same, then mankind is disconnected with Him. Technology has replaced any type of a supreme being or faith in one’s spirituality. Only mankind’s love for obtaining things exist. Men no longer appreciate nature the way Wordsworth wishes.
Wordsworth also believes that man have sold our souls when he writes “we have given our hearts away.” He calls this a “sordid boon.” Sordid means filthy or dirty. Webster’s Dictionary also defines the word as meaning “morally corrupt.” This obviously implies the hearts of men are morally degraded. A boon is a gift, so the corrupt hearts of men have been given away to some evil. When humans give their hearts away, they also give away their mo...