The World Is Too Much With Us

“The world is too much with us; late and soon,/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: …” –William Wordsworth, “The World Is Too Much With Us”

            Wordsworth interprets the poem as stating that people as a whole are a burden on the world with our wasteful behaviors. For example, our ceremonious gift giving is acceptable, but it is inexplicable to give away the heart as if it is a gift also. In other words, he attempts to tell us to conserve some things because nothing on this planet will last forever. In addition, his use of AB meter provides its rhyme scheme, thereby allowing anyone to memorize his poetry because of its bouncy feel. As the poem is orally read, it easily becomes one of song and dance simply because everything seems to be in place.

            Collectively speaking, people do not appreciate anything until it is 1)gone, 2)endangered and permanently altered, or 3)problems beyond our control arise. Christmas is a prime example in the manner that some of us will go and spend hundreds of dollars on PlayStation2, whatever Pokemon toys, and in some cases, even expensive jewelry that will more than likely take us the full year to pay off before the rush of another holiday season approaches and simultaneously forget the true meaning of the holiday. Another example is sex; it was once beautified as the ultimate symbol of love, and now it is “just the climax of a good Friday night date” with STDs abound. At this instant, we realize, “Hey, this is no friggin’ good; I wish we could revert to the old school of free love.”