The literal meaning of "materialism" is "the belief that money,possessions and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values".But the philosophical meaning of "materialism" is "the belief that only material things exist".
William Wordsworth belong to the Romantic Period of English Literature.He is known as "the Poet of Nature".Wordsworth gave expression to a new feeling for Nature and human life and preached a new philosophy - the philosophy of simple living.
Wordsworth was a philosophical poet and not a poetical philosopher.He was opposed to gross materialism and sordid pursuits of life due to his love with nature and rustic life.His most significant message to humanity is the message of "plain living and high thinking".He wishes his readers to become:
Type of the wise who soar,but never roam;
True to the kindled points of Heaven and Home!
He wanted human beings to keep away from the life of sordid materialism,for such a life was neither useful to the individual nor good for the society.
Group portrait including Ray Milton Sterling and C...
Wordsworth on Helvellyn
Photograph of the gravestone of William Wordsworth...Many of his poems show his dislike for materialism.One of them is "The World Is Too Much With Us".In this sonnet, Wordsworth has expressed his resentment against the life of materialism.He warns his country men of the evils of worldliness.As he says:
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.
He has pointed out that the life of materialism and getting and spending brought about the isolation of man from Nature,and from the beauties of Nature which is a curse for his own spiritual development.
In the poem,"The Reverie Of Poor Susan",Wordsworth tells us the story of a poor country woman who had came to London to earn her living by working as...