William Wordsworth explains in The World is Too Much With Us how materialism is causing man to be separated from nature. The People are Too Much Without Themselves was my creative interpretation of the theme. The story is about how technology’s obsession is driving people apart. My media product accurately represents the poem by using its style, content and structure.

William Wordsworth’s life was shaped by the Romantic Period, which is reflected in this poem. Romanticism represented a revolution in the way people viewed the world. They shifted from a scientific to a naturalistic perspective. This was a period of “new appreciation for nature’s sublime beauty” (VictorianWeb 1) but also an era when the industrial revolution was taking place, which gave wealth and power to those with the greatest material wealth. Wordsworth makes the clash between these ideologies quite evident. The speaker sees the world as “getting and wasting” and destroying its “powers”. This is the idea behind commodification. Humans are so obsessed with gaining wealth and power that they ignore their talents and true usefulness. This also shows how society distancing and ignoring nature. This idea is portrayed in my media by having one of the characters in a computer game trade in his heart for coins. In the game, hearts are rarer than coins and are far more valuable since they can heal. However, this character chose to accept the exchange. The whole scene is displayed by a Gameboy. Only one person can operate it. This represents how we humans distance ourselves from one another.

Wordsworth carefully selected the structure to enhance this theme. He uses rhymes in order to enhance and highlight the meaning of nature. He uses rhyme to emphasize words that describe nature. I have used this technique in my media project to show that nature is represented through the people. All the other colours are dark and dull, but the people are bright and vibrant. Wordsworth chose to create this rhyme scheme using his sonnet form. Sonnets are rigidly structured and have many rules. This contradicts Wordsworths more “conversationalist, simpler” style and the poems’ theme of freedom and naturalness (Robinson 20). Wordsworth tries to demonstrate our false consciousness in this subtle manner. We accept the consumeristic view of life, not knowing its limitations and barriers. My media product has large black bars that cover the videos. While most don’t even notice, the black bars actually cover a significant portion of my video. The black bars and sonnets in my video are structural changes that are not obvious but take away the overall effect. However, the viewers or readers accept them because they don’t know any better.

Wordsworth’s style is varied and enhances the theme. This poem has an emotional impact due to the powerful words he uses. Wordsworth 4 shows that he feels strongly about the human distancing from nature. In my media product, I create a scene in which two people are playing their Gameboys and walking past each other. This shows the impact of his diction. As they pass each other on the street, their souls are reaching out but can’t touch each other. Sein allusions are also emotionally powerful. The allusions that he became a “Pagan”, then saw “Proteus” rise from the ocean, are like a revolution call. (Wordsworth 10-13). Being a Pagan was going to make him an outcast in the society. But that didn’t bother him, as long as that brought him closer with nature. He takes it a step further and says that “Proteus”, which represents nature and those who are in its favor, is rising up against mankind and their supporters. In my video, I show this idea with an Aboriginal tribe chanting and dancing. Then a crow flies out. The Aboriginals represent Paganism in that they were outcasts because they did not have access to technology. The crow, on the other hand, represents Proteus in Aboriginal legend as a symbol of power and change. The crow’s flight out of the frame and breaking the black bars shows that the crow is escaping the false consciousness in the world. Proteus is a call for revolution, just as the crow.

michaellang

Michael Lang is a 33-year-old professor and blogger who is passionate about writing. He has been blogging for over 7 years and has written for various online publications. Michael is also a seasoned professor who has taught at the college level for over a decade. He is currently a professor of English at a community college in the Midwest.