Workshop on Wordsworth in Annaba | Blog entry by Martina Juričková

Blog entry by Martina Juričková

Anyone in the world

On May 5, Dr. Juričková from Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, organised an on site workshop with the first year master’s degree students of Badij Mohktar University in Annaba, Algeria, which she visited on the occasion of Erazmus teaching mobility.

The lesson started with an introduction of the socio-historical context of the era when Wordsworth lived - the time of the first industrial revolution, the romantic literary movement, and the life and work of Wordsworth.

Despite some problems with the technology, we then proceeded to the analysis of one of Wordsworth’s sonnets, "The World is Too Much with Us". The students discussed its environmental message and its lasting relevance.

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 everything, 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;