Literature is not a static, fixed entity, confined to parameters of its initial creation. Literary works continually evolve, adapting to new cultural, historical, and social contexts through processes of revision and reinterpretation. The grand scheme of literature is best represented as a vast network of interconnections, where various authors and individual works continue to have reverberating effects beyond their respective literary periods. Because new authors remain influenced and moved by their predecessors, works of the past are brought into the present and begin to engage in a sort of call-and-response relationship with contemporary literature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'? Get an Original Essay Such an intertextual dynamic exists between William Wordsworth's poem, 'The World is Too Much With Us,' and Denise Levertov's correlate, "O Taste and See." Both poems examine the question of the individual's connection with nature. Both poet-narrators aspire to achieve total spiritual communion with their surroundings. Wordsworth, however, argues that his world, at the At present, cannot offer him the spiritual satisfaction, the intimacy with nature, that he so stubbornly seeks. On the other hand, Levertov believes that stimulation and beauty are abundantly present in his environment. It is not a deficiency of her environment but rather a deficiency of herself (that is, her inability to experience the world simply, without the intermediary of thought) which could leave her spiritually deprived. By exploring the authors' individual views on urban life, their use (or non-use) of archaisms, and their particular treatment of a common "Garden of Eden" trope – while emphasizing the role of register, meter and form in both works – we begin to discover how “O Taste and See” is a direct and intertextual refutation of “The World is Too Much with Us”. In "The World is Too Much with Us" (1802-03, 1807), William Wordsworth believes that his ability to achieve harmony with nature has been tainted and compromised due to urbanization. For Wordsworth, urban life is the root cause of the destruction, of the purification of humanity. In his poem, he uses the competing registers of the industrialized city and its focus on materialism, with that of the natural world, to argue that his current urban environment is somehow "unnatural", or in direct opposition to the beauty of nature. He evokes this image and expresses his contempt for industrialized society, using terms such as "get and spend" and "waste" (Norton Anthology, 484, 3) to describe activities that take place in the material world. This last fragment is particularly reprehensible (and therefore effective) because the word “waste” implies a kind of irresponsible excess, or inappropriate and immoderate use close to exploitation. Wordsworth describes nature's faculties of connection and understanding, faculties that his fellow man has sacrificed and allowed to atrophy, as a "sordid godsend" (4) or dirty gift. Thus, Wordsworth compares the act of shamelessly abandoning one's ability to be in touch with nature ("We have given our hearts" [4]) to a vile and bankrupt business transaction, once again using contradictory registers to articulate your criticism. Unlike the despicable and anesthetic urban life (to the extent that it numbs the active senses), thenature is vibrant and thrilling. Wordsworth incorporates the register of movement into his descriptions of the natural world to reinforce this point, this vitality of nature. The winds, for example, are “howling” and “gathered” (6-7). However, despite its invigorating and stimulating effects, nature retains its delicate beauty, “like sleeping flowers” ​​(7). “For this, for everything” (8), that is to say for all the dimensions and nuances of the dynamic natural world, urbanized society lacks appreciation. Therefore, according to Wordsworth, urban life has made humanity careless, ignorant, and pitifully “out of tune” (8) with the divine melody of nature. Denise Levertov, on the other hand, takes a different view of the city and its effect on sensory experience, and this departure frames her discordant intertextual relationship with Wordsworth's poem. If William Wordsworth believes that urbanization has tainted or encroached on the pure and intimate connection between man and his environment, Levertov sees no such problem in “O Taste and See” (1964). Unlike Wordsworth, Levertov recognizes all elements of his environment as offering possible stimulation, fulfillment, and personal understanding in relation to nature. Making a direct allusion to Wordsworth's poem, and immediately placing his play as a critical counterpoint to his work, Levertov asserts that "the world is/not enough with us" (Norton Anthology, 1043, 1-2). In other words, it is not sufficiently involved in all facets of its rich environment. While Wordsworth's use of registers establishes an exclusive and diametrically opposed relationship between the city and natural life, Levertov makes no such distinction. Its wide variety of registers (or categories) reflects Levertov's more open reception of his environment. For example, while Wordsworth focused his attention on the physical characteristics of nature, Levertov includes in his poem a discussion of several other environmental components, such as emotions ("grief, mercy" [8]), language, color (“tangerine” [9]), fruits in nature (“plum, quince… in the orchard… picking the fruit” [13-15], and even scenes of city life (“crossing the street” [ 13]) In fact, it was during her walk on the city subway that she saw the biblical poster that suggested “O taste and see” (3), which triggered her thoughts and her thoughts. reflections on nature Therefore, in Levertov's poem, the city actually plays a key role in bringing her closer to her surroundings rather than meditating on them, which she does. suggests with its registers of eating and consumption: “breathe them, bite them, savor them, swallow them” (9-11). content where she is, whereas Wordsworth needs to escape his current industrial world. This urgent desire is evident in “The World is Too Much with Us” because of Wordsworth's use of archaisms and in his treatment of the “Garden of Eden.” trope. Through his allusions to Greek mythology and the Christian Garden of Eden, Wordsworth expresses his desire to transcend his modern age, an age that stifles his ability to connect to the natural world. To convey this feeling of timelessness, Wordsworth returns to the ancient world by invoking a series of archaisms. For example, he refers to mythological characters (Pagan, Proteus, Triton) and uses speech that does not reflect everyday language (as in the way "wreath'd" [14] is with an archaic accent) . However, Wordsworth is particular in his allusions, as he specifically references GREEK mythological characters. This is why he aspires to return to the dawn of time, tocradle of Western civilization, in order to “glimpse” in one way or another the pure joy of nature (“I would rather be/a pagan suckled by an outdated belief;/So could I... have insights that would make me less desperate” [9-12]). Likewise, Wordsworth lives in a post-expulsion world, but still within the Christian mental framework. So, if he cannot stay where he is in contemporary society and longs to return to a moment of great historical significance and new beginnings, Wordsworth must look both to the archaisms of Greek civilization and towards the Garden of Eden of the Old Testament, to find spiritual fulfillment. He introduces a new register towards the conclusion of the poem, that of birth and food, as evidenced by the use of the verb “to breastfeed” (10). Wordsworth wishes to be born again in this hypothetical and distant world, from which he will draw spiritual nourishment, or the healing milk of a pure and intimate connection with (mother) nature. Wordsworth's desire to escape to a place of high and important culture is strong, further emphasized by his use of high and traditional forms in his poem. “The world is too much with us” is an Italian sonnet that rather follows the guidelines of this form. strictly. It is composed of fourteen lines, with the first eight lines forming the octet, and follows the standard abba abba rhyme scheme. The last six lines, the sestet, differ only slightly from the traditional sonnet. Rather than adhering to the typical cde rhyme pattern, "The World Is Too Much With Us" ends with six lines of alternating rhyme (cdcdcd). The meter is primarily iambic pentameter, with only slight variations except at points where Wordsworth wishes to capture his reader's attention. We see such a moment in the first line of the poem, where there is an inverted iamb in the third foot, so that "much" (1) is stressed. This irregular or unexpected stress highlights the extent to which Wordsworth feels hampered by his urban environment. The other significant meter change occurs in the middle of the ninth line, with the phrase “Great God! (9). Here, both syllables are stressed, creating a spondee and serving as an auditory cue for the reader to pay attention. The spondee appears at the turn of the sonnet, a significant moment where the poem begins to answer or resolve the dilemma presented in the opening octet. Because Wordsworth uses such a traditional form of high poetics without much variation, he encapsulates both the importance of his concerns and the unequivocal certainty that a return to the dawn of high culture in Western civilization is the solution to his sense of disconnection with Because the sonnet "ends" with less of a "answer" or realistic solution, the slight play on the standard Italian sonnet form by virtue of the rhyme scheme is entirely appropriate, as it reinforces this slight narrative ambiguity. Wordsworth is sure of the setting or circumstances that would offer him comfort against a climate of cynical excess; but how can he access this environment that is an artifact of a different time and place? Levertov need not ask such questions, for she disagrees with Wordsworth that true communion with nature can only be found with a return to the classical worlds of Greek mythology and Christianity. As supported by his poetic form and his own interpretation of the "Garden of Eden" trope, Levertov claims that his favorite place of spiritual enlightenment is right outside his door, in the secular arena. "O Taste and See" is an open-form, free verse poem with a very irregular meter. However, due to its unregularized structure, Levertov's poem reads less like a work,.