As political rebellions swept the world, a revolution was also taking place in the way things were being made and handled. Like the changing of a government, the industrial revolution of the 19th century would alter the way many people lived. Before the 1800's most people lived in rural areas and worked at home, farming or making individual products as carpenters, blacksmiths, or weavers. Over 75 percent of the population lived in small towns of approximately 200-500 people. As inventions such as the steam engine were invented and large factories were being built people were moving from their small towns into developing cities located near factories. Many of the changes that occurred during the industrial revolution were not positive. The industrial revolution brought with it social strains as people left the countryside and relocated to new cities. I feel that the poem "The world is too much with us" by, William Wordsworth expresses insight on the changing times of the 19th century, as Europe moved from the countryside into industrial cities. .
Wordsworth opens his poem with the lines, "The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste out powers: / Little we see in nature that is ours;." These three lines are perfect in telling of his emotions and feelings about the revolution. He feels that as a result of urbanization the beauty of nature that once many people possessed and saw everyday in their lives is now lost and in its place people find joy in "getting and spending." In the next line, "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!" Wordsworth expresses to us that we are filthy animals and have betrayed nature; we have taken our love away from it and given it to, "getting and spending." "The winds that will be howling at all hours, / And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers, / For this, for everything, we are out our tune: / it moves us not.
