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I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born on April 17, 1770, just outside the Lake District in the quaint market town of Cocker mouth, Cumbria.

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth He was one of the greatest romantic poets in the 19 – century England.

He belongs to the Romantic school of poetry.

Poets of this school are very interested in nature, which has a great effect on their poetry.

Studied at Cambridge University

Death Date: April 23, 1850

Introduction (about the poem)

William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud " also known as “ The daffodils” is a lyric poem focusing on the poet's response to the beauty of nature

The final version of the poem was first published in Collected Poems in 1815. An earlier version was published in Poems in Two Volumes in 1807 as a three-stanza poem. The final version has four stanzas.

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Setting and Background Information

The poem recaptures a moment on April 15, 1802. when Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were walking near Lake Ullswater in Grasmere, Cambria County, England, and came across a "long belt" of golden daffodils.

Wordsworth sister Dorothy, played an important part in his life and she also influenced him with her love of nature.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils): Rhyme, Form & Meter

"I wandered lonely as a Cloud" has a fairly simple form that fits its simple and folksy theme and language. It consists of four stanzas with six lines each, for a total of 24 lines.

The rhyme scheme is also simple: ABABCC. The last two lines of each stanza rhyme like the end of a Shakespearean sonnet, so each stanza feels independent and self-sufficient.

Figures of speech

•Stanza one:I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o’er vales and hills.When all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Figures of Speech (stanza one):

‘I wondered lonely as a cloud.’

Simile: The poet compares himself to a cloud walking without an aim.

The poet used alliteration in:

-Line 2: ‘That floats on high o’er vales and hills’.

The ‘h’ sound as in high, and hills.

Line 5: ‘Beside the lake, beneath the trees,’.

The ‘b’ sound as in beside, and beneath.

Stanza one

‘Golden daffodils.’

Metaphor: The poet compares the yellow daffodils to gold in their bright color.

‘Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’

Personification: The poet personifies the daffodils to people who can move and dance.

Stanza two:

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousands saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance

Figures of Speech (stanza two):

1- ‘Continuous as the stars that shine’

Simile: The poet compares the daffodils to stars in their huge number and their shiny appearance.

2- ‘Tossing their heads in sprightly dance’

Personification: The poet personifies the daffodils as human beings moving their heads quickly.

Stanza three:

The waves beside them danced, but theyOutdid the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazed – and gazed – but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought

Figures of Speech (stanza three):

‘The waves beside them danced’ & ‘they

outdid the sparkling waves in glee’

Personification: The poet personifies the waves as human beings dancing and feeling happy.

The poet used alliteration in:

-Line 1: The ‘b’ sound as in beside, and but.

-Line 1: The ‘th’ sound as in the, them and they.

Line 6: The ‘w’ sound as in what, and wealth.

Stanza four:

For often, when on my couch I lie,In vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;and then my heart with pleasures fills,and dances with the daffodils.

Figures of Speech (stanza four):

The poet used alliteration in:

-Line 1: The ‘o’ sound as in often, and on.

-Line 3: The ‘th’ sound as in they, and that.

-Line 6: The ‘d’ sound as in dances, and daffodils.

2- ‘my heart …. dances with the daffodils’.

Personification: The poet personifies his heart as a human being who is dancing

Figures of speech(Apostrophe: ):

“I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; ”.The poet apostrophizes the daffodils and describes them in their large number as a crowd of people. Also , “In such a jocund company “The poets addresses the flowers as human beings and describes them as a happy company of good friends .

Repetition:

In third stanza, poet repeated the word “gazed” two times.

The word "dance" is repeated 3 times in this poem. In the 1st stanza, it denotes the happiness and liveliness of the flowers. In the 2nd stanza, it creates a sense of harmonious relationship between the daffodils and the waves. In the last stanza, it refers that this harmony is advanced to include the poet himself.

Lexical pattern:

In first stanza, The poet used contrast between “ lonely” and “crowd” & “o’er “ and “ beneath.” The poet used contrast to stress and emphasize the meaning.

This poem contains four stanza and all are talking about poet’s imagination on nature. Poet use maximum nature related words. The poet describes nature by describing the daffodils and comparing them to stars and waves.

He is also writing about himself in relation to nature. Nature is a source of happiness.

Nature of literary communication

In this poem, poet himself is an addresser or sender. Through the whole poem, poet explaining his thought as monologue.

There is no addressee appears in this poem. Poet directly talking with his audience and sharing his feeling and thought about nature (daffodils). So, we are the receiver here.

Grammar And Sentence

William Wordsworth uses a complete sentence with subject and predicate.

There are six sentences Unit and Trunk in the entire poem.

The title of the poem itself is in a complete sentence. Aside from using complete sentences, the author also makes a vivid description of the daffodils by using several predicate to describe the scenery.

Wordsworth likes to begin each stanza by using a complete sentence and he expands it by using elaborate predicates and clauses.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) semantic analysis semantic analysis

The poet starts his poem by painting a picture of himself walking aimlessly, like a cloud in the sky when suddenly he saw a group of beautiful golden daffodils

This whole poem was powers of imagination. Whatever he say, all came from his imagination. By his imagination power, William Wordsworth wrote this romantic poem where we find his romance with nature.

Semantic (Main Theme of the poem)

Nature' s beauty uplifts the human spirit .

Theme of { Happiness } :” Fluttering and dancing in the breeze “ maybe the poem just makes us feel good about life by using the power of imagination .

the theme of loneliness : 'I wandered lonely as a cloud.' that could be affected by daily routines .

theme of rejecting city life and going back to the Mother Nature .

o Memory and the Past : the poet can always draw on his imagination to reproduce the joy of the event and to remember the spiritual wisdom that it provided

o powers of imagination .

Semantic analysis (City life vs. Nature)

Wordsworth try to explain the difference between city life and nature (rural). Through the lines, the shift of the poet feelings is very clear.

Firstly, he complains about the corrupted world, which lacks cooperation and harmony, so he wanders lonely and hopeless.

He prefers to get away from other people as if being with them brings him nothing but more sadness and loneliness.

However, seeing the golden daffodils cheered him up because they welcomed him. "A host, of golden daffodils" shows that the poet ran away from city life and took nature as a shelter to protect him from the world's corruption.

References

Spark Notes (2010). I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/wordsworth/section7.rhtml

Mathew, P. (1997). Academy of American poets. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/2968

Samuel, K. (N.P). Biography of William Wordsworth. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wordsworth_william.shtml