The World Is Too Much with Us: Poem Analysis

The poem begins with a famous complaint: 'The world is too much with us; late and soon'. Wordsworth argues that human beings are completely obsessed with the 'world'—meaning modern city life, earning money, and buying things. He writes, 'Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers'. By focusing only on wealth and business, we are destroying our inner spiritual energy and potential.

Wordsworth laments that we have 'given our hearts away' to materialism, which he calls a 'sordid boon' (a dirty or shameful gift). Because of this greed, we have become completely blind and deaf to the magnificent beauty of Nature. We no longer appreciate the sea bearing her chest to the moon, or the howling winds. We are 'out of tune' with the natural rhythms of the Earth.

In the final section of the sonnet, the poet's frustration peaks. He declares that he would rather be a 'Pagan' (an ancient, primitive person who worshipped many nature gods) than a modern Christian who cares only for money. If he were a Pagan, he could stand on a grassy meadow and actually see the ancient sea gods—Proteus rising from the waves, or Triton blowing his wreathed horn. He wishes for this ancient magic because it would make him feel deeply connected to the Earth again, rather than feeling lonely and empty in the modern industrial world.