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The World Is Too Much With Us Meaning

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The Search for Happiness In the poem “The World is Too Much With Us,” Wordsworth implies that to find true happiness one must disconnect himself from the corrupted world; in fact, Wordsworth goes so far as to say true salvation lies in a reconnection to nature. Wordsworth speaks throughout the work about the discontinuity of modern society with nature in it’s never ending search for a distraction. An analysis of the work allows the reader a reflection on themselves and their own happiness and connection to nature, and what they would be willing to give up for that connection. An example of Wordsworth’s belief that modern society has become disconnected with nature and is corrupt, is in the diction that he uses. Throughout the piece, the author states many of the ways in which the people have become disconnected with true meaning such as, “getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,” and “we are out of tune [with nature],” (Wordsworth 2,8). Wordsworth in these instances is explaining the depth of our disconnection with …show more content…

Wordsworth was brought up in the Church of England and was a pious believer. However, in his poem, Wordsworth states that he would, “rather be a pagan suckled in a creed outworn,” than be disconnected with nature (9-10). This a further testament to Wordsworth’s commitment to nature and what he would be willing to give up in order to remain connected to it. In reference to Wordsworth’s statement that he would prefer paganism to disconnection Aubrey says, “Wordsworth is saying, presumably, that superstition is preferable to worldliness or apathy if it preserves the life of the imagination and our sense of nature as a living presence with purposes akin to our own.” In Wordsworth’s eyes, a life apart from the institution of belief he was raised in is much preferable to the death of all that nature embodies for

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