A fellow Saunterer wrote to us that “a William Wordsworth sonnet entitled, The World is Too Much With Us, dated 1807, has given me guidance throughout my adult life.” He added, “Seems human nature is still what it always has been.” Listen:
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 every thing, 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 coming from the sea,
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
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For thoughts on the sonnet, click here.
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