For Study and Discussion: The World Is Too Much With Us

1. a) What does Wordsworth mean in this sonnet by "the world"?

When Wordsworth mentions "the world", he means the society of now. Wordsworth is referring to the materialistic and ungrateful society of humans that were living when this poem was written.

b) What does he mean by "Nature"?

By "Nature", Wordsworth means the beautiful natural world made by god that materialistic society does not appreciate. Nature is this wonderful, free piece of beauty in our world that people forget to appreciate because they have been so blinded by their wants in life. So unfortunately, the others cannot be as in touch with Nature is Wordsworth can.

c) With which aspects of Nature has "getting and spending" made us "out of tune"?

Society had become "out of tune" with Nature because they were so used to spending money on things. What is really important is how clueless people can be when they do not realize that the important things in life are free. The fact that people were so focused on material things in turn made them lose their connection with the natural world.

2. In the second part of this sonnet, Wordsworth expresses the need for a feeling of identity with the natural world that he thinks modern people lack. How do the concluding lines, which refer to the ancient pagan gods Proteus and Triton, express the more imaginative relation to nature that Wordsworth desires?

Wordsworth uses a reference to the pagan gods because of the line when he mentions "I'd rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn." Wordsworth is saying he would rather be a pagan because then he would get a different outlook on Nature, such as the gods of Nature. He is just expanding on what Pagans may view as Nature.