About William Wordsworth
Critical essays on the poetry of William Wordsworth
Click here for a list of essays...

   The poetry of William Wordsworth has endured the tests of time and captured the imagination of millions over the centuries. "The World Is Too Much with Us" stands as one of Wordsworth's best-known works and is part of his Lyrical Ballads - a joint effort between himself and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It was first conceived by Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy while they were living near Coleridge. It was the belief of the two famous poets that poetry should endeavor to make the supernatural seem natural and the natural, supernatural. This principle is clearly seen in "The World Is Too Much With Us." Much of what Wordsworth tells the reader of his goals, his belief system regarding poetry, and his feelings toward nature in the "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads" is illustrated in this one particular sonnet.
    Wordsworth also felt that poetry should be the product of strong emotions on the part of the poet. He saw the process of creating poetry as developing from training and regulating feelings through long periods of contemplation that would serve to connect feeling to subjects of importance. He believed that a rapidly expanding population which caused industrial areas to be densely populated served to vulgarize taste and cause people to crave the extraordinary.. When literature developed to fulfill this desire on the part of the general public, it further contributed to grinding down the discriminating edges of man's natural sensitivity. Poetry such as "The World Is Too Much With Us" helps us see the conclusions its author has arrived at through contemplation about humanity's place in nature and the universe that caused him to have such strong emotion...

Click here for a list of essays...