Imagery and Musical Devices Analysis in William Wordsworth’s“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”

ByRavita Nurjanah

AbstractIn this paper, the writer would like to

analyze "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth. The purpose are to increase the knowledge and to make the readers can feel the experience of analyzing poem. The writer focused on the intrinsic elements that are imagery and musical devices. Theories that used are textual, contextual, and hypertextual by close reading method. To sum up, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth can be easier to understand by the readers.

1. Introduction1.1 Background of the Study

According to Wentworth K. Brown and Sterling P. Ohnsted in Language and Literature (1962; 161), “poems are briefer and more compact than plays or even short stories and are therefore handy examples of complete verbal structures”. Laurence Perrine, in Sound and Sense : An Introduction to Poetry (1969; 3), explains the definition of poetry is like this: “poetry might be defined as a kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language”. By analyzing the poem, the readers can feel the experience and increase the knowledge about the poem.

Analyzing poetry is an activity to explore the elements and find out the real meaning of the poem. The writer choose I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, which is also known as The Daffodils, written by William Wordsworth to be analyzed and focus on the imagery and musical devices. 1.2 Purpose of the Study1. To appeciate the poem of William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.2. To analyzed the imagery and musical devices in William Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

2. Poet’s BiographyWordsworth, born in his

beloved Lake District, was the son of an attorney. He went to school first at Penrith and then at Hawkshead Grammar school before studying, from 1787, at St John’s College, Cambridge – all of which periods were later to be described vividly in The Prelude. In 1790 he went with friends on a walking tour to France, the Alps and Italy, before arriving in France where Wordsworth was to spend the next year.

3. Theory and MethodsA. Theory1. Imagery

Imagery is an ingredient of all creative writing, because an image is simply any fragment of virtual life which involves the reader’s senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and so on). (Language and Literature, 179)

There are seven kinds of imagery, there are visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, organic, and kinesthetic. 

2. Musical DevicesThe poet, unlike the man who uses language to convey only

information, chooses his words for sound as well as for meaning, and he uses the sound as a means of reinforcing his meaning. (Sound and Sense, 177).

There are elements in musical devices: onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, rhyme, consonance, and repetition.

B. MethodsThe writer use textual, contextual, and hypertextual by close

reading method.

4. Research Object

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. Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky wayThey streched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 

The waves beside them danced; but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazed --- and gazed --- but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloudby William Wordsworth

5. DiscussionStanza 1 line 1

I wandered lonely as a cloudThe word ‘wandered’ here represent kinesthetic imagery because the word ‘wandered’ is a movement. The human body is moved when someone do a trip, such as : walk, run, etc.

Stanza 1 line 2That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

This line uses kinesthetic imagery because the word ‘floats’ is also a movement that human’s doing. Someone need a move his/her feet, hands, or wings.

Stanza 1 line 3When all at once I saw a crowd,

This line uses visual imagery because the word ‘saw’.

Stanza 1 line 6Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

The word ‘fluttering’ and ‘dancing’ is kinesthetic words because make a movement too.

A. IMAGERY

To be continued . .Stanza 2 line 1

Continuous as the stars that shineThis line uses visual imagery because ‘shine’ can be seen by human’s eye.

Stanza 2 line 2And twinkle on the milky way

The word ‘twinkle’ is visual imagery because the twinkle of star can be seen by eyes.

Stanza 2 line 5Ten thousand saw I at a glance

The word ‘saw’ is visual imagery, meanwhile the word ‘glance’ is kinesthetic imagery.

Stanza 2 line 6Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

In this line there are two kinesthetic imagery in words ‘tossing’ and ‘dance’.

To be continued . .Stanza 3 line 2

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:The word ‘sparkling’ is visual imagery because can be seen by eyes.

Stanza 3 line 5I gazed --- and gazed --- but little thought

The word ‘gazed’ is visual imagery because can be seen by eyes.

Stanza 3 line 6What wealth the show to me had brought:

The word ‘show’ is visual imagery because can be seen by eyes.

Stanza 4 line 1For oft, when on my couch I lie

This line uses kinesthetic imagery because the word ‘lie’ is also a movement that human’s doing.

Stanza 3 line 1The waves beside them danced; but they

In this line, the word ‘danced’ is kinesthetic imagery.

To be continued . .Stanza 4 line 2

In vacant or in pensive mood,The words ‘vacant’and ‘pensive mood’ is organic imagery because internal sensation.

Stanza 4 line 3They flash upon that inward eye

In this line there is visual imagery because the phrase ‘inward eye’.

Stanza 4 line 4Which is the bliss of solitude;

The words ‘solitude’ is organic imagery because internal sensation.

Stanza 4 line 5And then my heart with pleasure fills,

The words ‘heart’and ‘pleasure is organic imagery because internal sensation.

Stanza 4 line 6And dances with the daffodils.

In this line, the word ‘dances’ is kinesthetic imagery.

1. RhymeIn this poem, Wordsworth uses an a-b-a-b-c-c rhyme. The words that pointed this case are:Stanza 1 : cloud, hills, crowd, daffodills, trees, breeze.Stanza 2 : shine, way, line, bay, glance, dance.Stanza 3 : they, glee, gay, company, thought, brought.Stanza 4 : lie, mood, eye, solitude, fills, daffodills.

2. AlliterationThere are alliteration in this poem:all-at, beside-beneath, stars-shine, ten-thousand, tossing-their, beside-but, them-they, what-wealth, dances-daffodils.

3. ConsonanceThere are consonance in this poem:wandered-cloud, vales-hills, fluttering-dancing, dance-daffodils.

4. AssonanceThere are assonance in this poem:lonely-cloud, on-over, all-at, host-golden-daffodils, beside-beneath, fluttering-dancing, twinkle-milky, streched-ending, jocund-company, flash-that, is-bliss, dances-daffodils.

B. MUSICAL DEVICES

6. ConclusionI Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is a poem written by

William Wordsworth in . It is also called as The Daffodills. This poem, the narrator felt that he or she imagined to be fly and found a beautiful place. In that place, he or she felt comfortable, when he or she felt sad, she or he would came in that place.

In this paper, the writer choose to analyze the imagery and musical devices. The kinds of imagery that will be focus on visual, organic and kinesthetic imagery. As musical devices, this study will be discussed about rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration. The writer use textual, contextual, and hypertextual by close reading method.

ReferencesBrown, Wentworth K. and Ohmsted. 1962. Language

and Literature. New York:Harcourt, Barce & World, Inc.

Perrine, Laurence. 1969. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. Atlanta:Harcourt, Barce & World, Inc.

http://www.frostfriends.org/imagery.html on December 21st, 2015.

http://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org/ebooks/new7/william_wordsworth_Poems-2004_9.pdf

on December 21st, 2015.

Thank you