Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Inspirational PoemsThe World Is Too Much With Us
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 wreathèd horn.
Overview Short Summary
Wordsworth criticizes a life trapped in getting and spending. It belongs with poems about happiness not money because the speaker sees material obsession as a loss of heart and wonder.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Materialism: Getting and spending waste human powers.
- Lost connection: The speaker mourns being out of tune with nature.
- Spiritual poverty: The poem suggests that wealth-seeking can make the inner life poorer.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is frustrated, mournful, and visionary. The mood is restless because the speaker wants a deeper life than material routine.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
Sea, moon, winds, sleeping flowers, Proteus, and Triton symbolize the wonder people lose when they live only for money.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The sonnet form concentrates the complaint and then turns toward an imagined recovery of wonder.
The Pulley
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can.
Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said he,
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.”
Overview Short Summary
Herbert’s poem imagines a person receiving strength, beauty, wisdom, honour, pleasure, and riches but still lacking rest. It directly fits poems about wealth and happiness because it separates abundance from peace.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Rich but weary: The poem says a person may have riches and still remain restless.
- Rest as treasure: Rest is treated as the missing jewel.
- Spiritual contentment: The poem suggests that true rest comes from more than worldly gifts.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is reflective and devotional. The mood is thoughtful because the poem questions whether gifts alone can satisfy the soul.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The glass of blessings, treasure, jewel, riches, and pulley-like movement give the poem a symbolic structure.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The five-line stanzas move like a miniature parable about gifts, restlessness, and return.
The Noble Nature
It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sear:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night—
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.
Overview Short Summary
Jonson’s poem rejects the idea that size, length, or outward scale makes life better. It fits poems about true happiness because it values quality, beauty, and purpose over bulk or status.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Quality over size: A brief lily can be nobler than a long-standing oak.
- Inner worth: The poem measures life by beauty and perfection, not quantity.
- Simple perfection: Small proportions can still contain complete beauty.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is concise and wise. The mood is quietly uplifting.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The oak and lily symbolize two different ways of measuring life: size versus meaningful beauty.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem is short and aphoristic, making its lesson about value easy to remember.
Virtue
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky:
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night;
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye;
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie,
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
Overview Short Summary
Herbert contrasts temporary beauty with the lasting value of a virtuous soul. It fits happiness over wealth because the poem values the inner life above fading worldly things.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Inner value: The virtuous soul outlasts outward beauty.
- Impermanence: Day, rose, and spring all pass away.
- True happiness: The poem implies that a good soul matters more than temporary possessions.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is elegant, solemn, and reassuring. The mood is reflective because beauty is loved but also seen as temporary.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
Day, rose, spring, dew, coal, and seasoned timber create a contrast between fragile beauty and lasting virtue.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The repeated “For thou must die” gives the poem a meditative structure before the final turn.
Barter
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children’s faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit’s still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
Overview Short Summary
Teasdale’s poem uses the language of buying and selling to show that beauty, love, peace, and wonder are life’s real treasures. It is a strong poem about happiness over wealth.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Beauty as wealth: The poem treats loveliness as something worth spending for.
- Peace: One hour of peace is valued above years of strife.
- Simple joys: Waves, fire, music, rain, faces, and love become forms of richness.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is passionate and grateful. The mood is luminous because the poem makes ordinary beauty feel priceless.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
Blue waves, singing fire, gold music, pine scent, and stars create a rich sensory world.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem’s three six-line stanzas build from examples of loveliness to a final call to value it above cost.
Continue Reading
Related Poems & Articles
More selected reading from Inspirational Poems.
