The world is too much with us; late and soon

William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)



The world is too much with us; late and soon,
     Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
     Little we see in Nature that is ours;
     We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
     This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
     The winds that will be howling at all hours,
     And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
     For this, for everything, we are out of tune,
     It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
     A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
     So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
     Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
     Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
     Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

36 sec read
498

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACACDCD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 672
Words 119
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was the husband of Eva Bartok. more…

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