Sornvara Kho-Udom

October 16, 2008 Carter/Period 3

Poem Analysis

1) What is the tone of the poem?

William Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” illustrates two different moods as the reader beings describing this dramatic poem: loneliness and merriness. The whole poem uses a

quatrain-couplet rhyming scheme following: ABABCC, which emphasizes the last rhyming words of each

line as the author describes his view of natural beauty. It also follows and is metered in iambic pentameter. The plot of this poem depicts the wandering as he finds memories that comfort him from

loneliness. In order to portray solitude, the speaker compares himself to a cloud. Regarding loneliness, the poem is melancholic as it develops. As the poet uses, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, it first implies a

negative mood. “Lonely” gives the reader a connotation of sadness, being left alone. The connotation of

a “cloud” is seductive, yet sometimes dangerous. Clouds can bring gusty winds that lead you of your track, or they can come together and form beautiful pictures in the sky. In this poem, the two combined

implies desolation, where the surroundings are moving slow. As the poem progresses, the speaker describes what happens in the story. He thinks flashes

through his memories of the things that are delightful to him. In the first stanza, he meets a “host of golden daffodils”, where assonance and personification is used to emphasize the tone. The tong changes

from gloomy into light-hearted and cheerful. The daffodils seem to be welcoming him as the author uses

“host”. Also, “beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the summer breeze” is used to personify the daffodils that all seem to be joyful, and gives imagery as if the daffodils are swaying on a

day of clear skies, with soft breezes blowing. In the second stanza, the speaker continues on his wandering journey, and meets a “never-

ending line” of stars. Often, stars are a symbol of guidance during confusion or when being lost. From

being miserable, the speaker starts to become more joyful, looking at “ten thousand” stars “at a glance” in awe. The stars are personified and are “tossing their heads in sprightly dance”. This gives the reader

some more sense of ecstasy. More objects (waves) are personified as they “dance” and have “glee” in the next two stanzas. It

is used to highlight the tone that comes from depressing to pleasurable. He reflects on those

memories, and realizes that the he was faced with the one of greatest wealth, not money, but happiness. It wraps up the poem as the speaker becomes content and his heart fills with “pleasure”

and “dances with daffodils”.

2) Explain the poet’s use of the cat as a metaphor for fog.

The whole poem, “Fog”, compares a cat to a fog by using metaphors. It shares characteristics with

the cat. The poet has presents fog as a living creature, as it “comes”, “sits”, “looking”, and then “moves on”. In the first stanza, “The fog comes on the little cat’s feet” conveys many cat

characteristics. The two are very similar, the cat and fog move slowly, softly, swiftly, and stealth. Each movement is filled with grace. It seems to be creeping along delicately, silent. It small crawls are

mysterious and soundless. By using metaphors, Sandburg makes the fog come to life effective as if it

were living.