THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US - BASIC ENGLISH NOTES - SEMESTER I - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 

THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US

Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.

1) What is the theme of the poem?

Ans: Importance of the nature is the theme of the poem. The major themes of the poem are the loss of nature and the natural world and the impacts of the busy life. The poet argues that people have forsaken their souls for material gains.

 

2) What is the meaning of sordid boon?

Ans The poet calls the loss of harmony with nature with our increasing materialistic demands a ‘sordid boon’. Sordid refers to something which is dirty, vile, or selfish. Boon is something that is beneficial, helpful, or considered a blessing.

 

3) “The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.’ What does the speaker mean by “Getting and spending?”

Ans: The world of the First Industrial Revolution for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature.

 

4) Why does the speaker want to be a pagan?

Ans: The speaker wants to be a pagan because that person lives close to nature and knew how to respect and cherish nature.

 

5) What is the meaning of the phrase “the world is too much with us”?

Ans:  “The world is too much with us” is a sonnet by William Wordsworth, published in 1807, is one of the central figures of the English Romantic movement. The poem laments the withering connection between humankind and nature, blaming industrial society for replacing that connection with material pursuits.

 

6) How do we lay waste our powers?

Ans: 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. Getting and spending we lay waste our powers.

 

7) Why does man see “little in nature” according to the poet?

Ans:  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.

 

8) Why does the poet use the pronouns “we” and “us” in the poem?

Ans: 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.

 

9) According to Wordsworth, with what are we “out” of tune”?

Ans: 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.

 

10) Why does the poet choose to be a pagan?

Ans: 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.

 

Explain the following statements with reference to their context.

1) “Little we see in Nature that is ours”

Ans:   Wordsworth was concerned that people were becoming materialistic during his time.  Industrialization was happening, thus causing people to “give their hearts away.” 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. The poem's tone of complaint continues as the speaker describes a rift between nature and humanity. We get a potential clue as to the identity of at least one of those "powers" described in line 2: the ability to feel, which we've lost because we've given our hearts away. The phrase "little we see in Nature that is ours" is tricky, and can mean several, related things. We've become so absorbed in consumerism – in another world – that we no longer seem a part of nature. Alternatively, "Nature" can't be "got" or "spent" – because it is isn't a commodity that is manufactured – so it doesn't seem like it has anything to offer us. A "boon" is a reward, a benefit, or something for which to be thankful. "Sordid" means "base" or "vile." The speaker is being sarcastic here, almost as if he were saying "wow it's so great that we've handed over our hearts…not!"

 

2) “The winds that will be… we are out of tune.”

Ans: 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.

 

3) “I’d rather be a Pagan suckled in creed outworn.”

Ans: 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. In some sonnets, including this one, important things happen in the ninth line; there is a shift or "turn" that moves the poem in another direction.

While the speaker reiterates the claim he's been making all along – humanity and nature are alienated from one another – he also tells us how he wishes things were, at least for him, personally. He appeals to the Christian God (the capitalization means he has a specific, monotheistic deity in mind) and says he'd rather be a pagan who was raised believing in some antiquated ("outworn"), primitive religion ("creed"). To wish to be a pagan in 1807 – when the poem was published – would be like saying, "I wish I could wear clothes or do things that were in fashion a thousand years ago." Wait a second; he'd rather be a pagan than what? Than someone who isn't moved by nature? Seems like it. "Suckled" just means "nursed at a breast" or "nourished.

 

4) Little we see in Nature that is ours;

Ans: The poem's tone of complaint continues as the speaker describes a rift between nature and humanity. We get a potential clue as to the identity of at least one of those "powers" described in line 2: the ability to feel, which we've lost because we've given our hearts away.

The phrase "little we see in Nature that is ours" is tricky, and can mean several, related things. We've become so absorbed in consumerism – in another world – that we no longer seem a part of nature. Alternatively, "Nature" can't be "got" or "spent" – because it is isn't a commodity that is manufactured – so it doesn't seem like it has anything to offer us. A "boon" is a reward, a benefit, or something for which to be thankful. "Sordid" means "base" or "vile." The speaker is being sarcastic here, almost as if he were saying "wow it's so great that we've handed over our hearts…not!"

 

Answer the following questions in 300 words.

1) Why does the poet prefer to be ancient pagan than a member of civilized society? Explain.

Ans: Wordsworth is deeply disturbed by the materialism and consumerism, brought to us by the industrialization. It has encompassed humanity, who is too busy “getting and spending”. He mourns that humanity has such wonderful powers that are being laid waste. The mankind has given her heart away to this destructive blessing, the poet calls it a “sordid boon”, an oxymoron. Thus, Wordsworth decides to become a Pagan and prays to God. Pagans were the people of Southern Europe, they were not worshippers of a monotheistic God. They were rustics or rural folk. Wordsworth admires their tradition and perceives that to be close to nature he should be one of them. He wishes to feed on and relish the mesmerizing beauty of the nature. He wishes to enjoy the lea he stands on, so that he might feel a little less lonely. He wants to have the glimpses of the countryside and wants to taste the rural and rustic life that a Pagan lives. He wishes to go back in time where he might get a chance to see “The Old Man of the Sea”, Proteus, rising from the sea. He wishes to see “The Messenger of the Sea”, Triton, the son of Poseidon. Wordsworth wishes to be in absolute harmony with the nature.  

2) How does the poet express his contempt over the materialistic world?

Ans: Wordsworth has always been close to nature. Whether in his Tintern Abbey or The Tables Turned, he has appreciated nature profoundly. His “The world is too much with us” lays scathing criticism on the humanity that is distanced from the nature. The materialistic belief of "getting and spending" that the industrialization dawned upon us, Wordsworth calls it a "sordid boon", a contradiction. The poet talks about the worlds of past and the future, "late and soon". He is unhappy because mankind has given her heart away to this destructive blessing. We consider the Industrial Revolution a boon, while the poet has deeply condemns it. We do not see “the nature that is ours”. Wordsworth appreciates nature's beauty. He talks of how the fragile sea, in the night, bares her bosom to the moon. The beauty of the white light reflected on the mirthful waters appears magnificent. Then the poet talks of how the wild winds gather above us, hovering like sleeping flowers. However, he deplores the loss of it; he suffers due to the mechanical advancement of the society. Lamenting the poet declares how the humanity is “out of tune” with it all and wishes to become a Pagan so he might get glimpses of the beauty of nature.  

3) How does the poet describe the beauty of nature in the poem?

Ans:  In these lines, the speaker contrasts Nature with “The World”. He reveals that while people spend their time in acquiring worldly possessions, the true beauty of the earth cannot be owned. He reveals that very few things that people see in Nature actually belong to them. He then laments, “We have given our hearts away”. He believes that where we should enjoy nature, though it is not ours to own, instead we are filled with greed and we acquire wealth and worldly possessions rather than enjoying nature. The speaker then continues by describing the beauties of nature that people are missing out on by being so caught up in the want for money and possessions. In these lines of The World is Too Much With Us, the speaker describes the beauties of nature that most people are missing out on. He describes the sea, and the wind, and the flowers. His description of these parts of nature use personification to help the reader to connect with each description. The sea “bares her bosom to the moon” which suggests an intimacy between the moon and the sea. The winds “howl”. This gives the wind human emotion. The flowers “sleep”. Giving these parts of nature human attributes helps the reader to feel this connection with nature. It paints a picture of nature and allows the reader to understand what he is missing out on by being caught up in worldly possessions and greed.

4) Critically appreciate the poem “The World is too much with us”.

Ans: The material world that of the city, our jobs, our innumerable financial obligations controls our lives to an unhealthy degree. We are always rushing from one thing to the next; we earn money one day just to spend it the next. The result of this is that we have destroyed a vital part of our humanity: we have lost the ability to connect with and find tranquility in nature. In exchange for material gain, we have given away our emotions and liveliness. This ocean that reflects the moonlight on its surface, and the peaceful, momentarily windless night, which is like flowers whose petals are folded up in the cold these natural features still exist, but we just can’t appreciate them. Our lives have nothing to do with the rhythms of the natural world. As a result, those rhythms have no emotional impact on us. My God, I wish that I were raised in a culture that worshipped many gods, though that religion is now outdated. That way, standing on this pleasant patch of grass, I might be calmed and heartened by the image of the ocean before me. I might see the Greek god Proteus taking shape before my very eyes, or hear another Greek god, Triton, blow his legendary, spiral-grooved conch shell.