William Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us" shows that with changing times, there is a natural shifting of beliefs that is often necessary to justify one's place in the world. It is a poem rich with Wordsworth's common themes of Nature and alienation, but takes an unexpected turn on the view of how religion should be truly used.
             The first three lines of the poem begin by showing man's alienation from Nature. An intense weight is bestowed upon the reader as Wordsworth conveys a sad and mournful tone. The paradox "late and soon" tell us that there is in fact no time at all for man to be connected to the natural world; it is too late for man, due to the system of beliefs and moral values he has created. It also parallels the next phrase, "Getting and spending." Although this phrase literally means to get and to spend (which seems to be the driving force of society that Wordsworth is eluding to), also means, coupled with "late and soon," that it is too late to get or to extract meaning or comfort in Nature. Furthermore, we are quick to spend so that we may soon find immediate happiness. The line that follows, "Little we see in Nature that is ours;" shows the result of that system.
             Humanity, Wordsworth shows us, is not without a sense of irony. We have created a very inorganic society. In doing so, the only natural thing left that we feel a kinship towards is ourselves. Moreover, the only natural thing each individual has is the heart--and "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!" We have traded away the very organic element that makes us human for a place in an unnatural world. The reader literally stops, as humanity has halted, at this profound exclamation. Now, Wordsworth is able to show the reader how Nature is perceived. There is a fearful and solitary mood in the next three lines: "This sea bares her bosom to the moon; The winds ...