William Wordsworth’s Petrarchan Sonnet “The World Is Too Much With Us” takes the form of a poem of protest. Written in 1807, the poem attempts to communicate the negative effects of industrialization on the formerly agrarian England. Wordsworth writes the poem to warn about the losses that occur when people turn away from traditional ways of living in harmony with nature; not the least of which is the ability to appreciate the beauty and mystery of nature. The poem is still relevant today in modern society (two hundred years later). This is perhaps because the poem ties its clear message to history through mythological allusions. The mythological references present in Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” serve to sway the reader in favor of Wordsworth’s claim that the love of material goods causes an unhealthy detachment from nature that can lead to dark and dire circumstances.
The speaker elaborates on having “sight of Proteus rising from the sea” (Wordsworth 13). Proteus is a sea god in Greek mythology with the ability to prophesize the future. Therefore, an audience with knowledge of Greek mythology may interpret the reference as a precursor to a message regarding the future. It is by no coincidence that the speaker’s next line mentions the “wreathed horn” of Triton (14). Triton is a son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. He bears a conch shell that excites or calms the waves of the sea to his will. By combining the two Greek allusions, one could say that the speaker is warning the world that the future holds a massive shift in the waves of the sea; a shift, perhaps, that arises from the will of nature to enact worldly justice. This point of view has a foreboding effect on readers, for it implies nature may strike back at mankind for its utter disregard towards the environment. On the other hand, one could interpret the allusions as a song of praise to the traditional ways of living with nature. When the Argonauts are lost in the desert, Triton guides them back to the river and then the sea. Arguably, the speaker is referencing Proteus and Triton to illustrate that mankind will learn to go back to nature’s ways in the future. Viewing the poem in this particular manner can give the audience a very hopeful sensation.
The overall message of the poem is consistent nonetheless. Wordsworth uses the poem’s mythological allusions to express his belief that the people of the world lead lives of excessive consumerism, harm the environment at their own peril, and suffer from a loss of spirituality.
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