Daffodils

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 6 Daffodils – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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Comprehension Passages

Lines 1-2

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to context.
Answer:
These lines are taken from the poem ‘Daffodils’ written by William Wordsworth. The poem expresses Word worth’s love for nature and how he sought solace in it from the woes and worries of this world.
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker is feeling lonely and sad. As he walks along, he sees a large area of daffodils along the side of a lake, blowing in the breeze with bright yellow flowers reflected in the water in spite of the waves due to the wind. The sight of the flowers on the shore and their reflection cheers him greatly.

Question 2.
Who wandered like a lonely cloud and where ?
Answer:
The poet William Wood sworth wanders like a lonely cloud over the valleys and hills .

Question 3.
Who does he come across while wandering ?
Answer:
While wandering among the valleys and hills the poet comes across the host of the golden daffodils flowers .

Question 4.
Where were the daffodils and what where they doing ?
Answer:
The daffodils were by the side of the lake under the trees. They were fluttering under in the breeze as if they were dancing like human beings expressing their joy and energy.

Lines 7- 12

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
Explain with reference to context.
Answer:
These lines are taken from the poem ‘Daffodils’ written by William Wordsworth. The poem expresses Word worth’s love for nature and how he sought solace in it from the woes and worries of this world.
There are as many daffodils as there are stars in the sky–so many they can’t be counted. He says in one glance he saw “ten thousand,” which is a large number used to express how large the bed of flowers was . They seem to be dancing in the breeze.

Question 2.
What is being compared to the stars and why ?
Answer:
The host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake under the tree are being compared to the stars. A milky way is a cluster of stars which shine brightly across a huge stretch of space . Similarly like the stars in the milky way the poet feels that the daffodils are not only uncountable but also they are dancing with full energy and joy in never ending line along the margin of the lake .

Question 3.
How many did the poet see at a glance?
Answer:
The poet saw maybe ten thousand at a glance.

Question 4.
What were the daffodils doing? Which literary device is used here?
Answer:
The daffodils were dancing merrily in the breeze. The poet is using personification here when he compares the movement of the daffodils in the breeze to dancing humans.

Lines 13-18

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
Explain with reference to context.
Answer:
These lines are taken from the poem ‘Daffodils’ written by William Wordsworth. The poem expresses Word worth’s love for nature and how he sought solace in it from the woes and worries of this world.
The waves of the lake lap at the shore, but the sound the daffodils make as they dance in the wind outdos the sound of the water. The poet can’t help being happy when he is in such joyful (jocund) company. He looks at them for a long time, but he doesn’t yet appreciate what experiencing these flowers has done for him.

Question 2.
Which wealth is referred to by the poet?
Answer:
The wealth which is referred to here by the poet means wealth of joy and happiness; which actually comes from happy and fond memories when the poet saw a host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake beneath the trees.

Question 3.
Whom did the daffodils out do and how ?
Answer:
The daffodils outdid the waves in the lake. The daffodils seemed to be dancing like human beings expressing their joy and energy when the breeze blew over them. Both the flowers and waves seem to be in competition to show their feelings and expressions.

Question 4.
Which jocund company is the poet referring to ?
Answer:
The poet is referring to the jocund company of the host of golden daffodils dancing in joy by the side of the lake under the trees. Along with them the waves in the lake too were dancing by the side of the daffodils . A poet was bound to be happy in such a joyful company of the daffodils and the waves.

Question 5.
Which wealth is referred to by the poet?
Answer:
The wealth which is referred to here by the poet means wealth of joy and happiness; which actually comes from happy and fond memories when the poet saw a host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake beneath the trees.

Lines 19-24

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
Explain with reference to context.
Answer:
These lines are taken from the poem ‘Daffodils’ written by William Wordsworth. The poem expresses Word worth’s love for nature and how he sought solace in it from the woes and worries of this world.
In the final stanza, the poet knows how much the flowers have affected him. Often, when he is lying on his couch or when he is in a thoughtful (pensive) mood, an image of the daffodils comes to him, and then his heart fills with pleasure and “dances with the daffodils.”

Question 2.
What happens to the poet when he is sometime in a pensive mood?
Answer:
Whenever the poet lived on his couch in a unoccupied and sad mood the fond and happy memory of the daffodil flowers flushed upon his eye of imagination which is a source of joy and inspiration to the poet in such his lonely mood.

Question 3.
What is the bliss of solitude referred to here?
Answer:
By the term ‘bliss of solitude’ the poet wants to express that he felt really happy in the joyful company of the daffodil flowers and the waves. They seemed to compete with each other in such a mood. The poet caught the joyful mood and thus became a part of nature itself. He only kept on watching the scene, unable to decide what wealth of joy, he had received from it. The greatest benefit of this experience was that whenever the poet lay on his couch in an unoccupied and sad mood, the fond and the sweet memory of the daffodils crashed upon his eye of imagination; which a source of joy and inspiration to’the poet in his lonely and pensive mood.

Question 4.
What does he mean by the ‘inward eye’?
Answer:
The inward eye refers to the eye of his imagination , his soul which can provide him the sight of the daffodils in his memory and he can once again experience the same joy which he had experienced when he had seen the daffodils.

Project

Question 1.
Describe in your own words the poet’s feelings when he sees the host of golden daffodils ?
Answer:
The poet was thrilled to see a host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake under the trees moving their head in a joyful dance. They seemed to be dancing like a human being expressing their energy and joy. When the poet saw the flowers, his imagination traveled to another world to find a comparison. He was reminded of the stars twinkling in the milky way at night. The long line of the daffodils flowers bore comparison with the bright stars seen across the night sky.

Question 2.
Why does the poet say I gazed and gazed but a little thought / what wealth that show to me had brought?
Answer:
The poet was alone. He was moving about aimlessly over the high valleys and hills watching the beautiful scenes of nature. Suddenly he saw a great number of golden coloured flowers by the side of the lake under the trees moving their heads in joyful dance. The waves in the lake, by the side of the flowers, were also dancing but the daffodils had outdone the waves in their expression of joy. A poet felt happy in such a joyful company of the dancing flowers and the waves. In sheer delight and surprise he could not decide what joy this sight had brought for him. He could perhaps gaze at the pleasure of the present moment but he could not imagine how again and again in the future he would recall and re-live this experience and what ecstasy that memory would bring for him.

Question 3.
Mention the two moods of the poet?
Answer:
The two moods of the poet are:

1. Happy mood when he is free from worries.
2. A pensive mood when he is serious and thoughtful.

Question 4.
How can the heart dance?
Answer:
The heart can dance when a man feels happy. His heart is filled with great pleasure and he feels great thrill. Then it is said that his heart dances.

Question 5.
How is the last verse different from the other verse? Is the poet deriving a different mood than that expressed in the previous verse?
Answer:
The last verse of the poem ‘Daffodils’ explores the poet’s feelings when he reminisces the scene of daffodils he witnessed much earlier. The first three verses describe the host of golden, happy and beautiful daffodils he saw one day. The last verse discusses what an enriching experience that had been. That sight still plays on in the mind of the poet and gives him inner peace andinspires him.

Question 6.
What does Wordsworth compare himself to? Why?
Answer:
Wordsworth is comparing himself to a cloud in the sky, wandering without a destination, as can be seen in Line 1 of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. Since he is in the sky like a floating cloud the poet is able to see all the things and events in the world. He has a comprehensive view but he can only observe the world at a distance. There is the suggestion of perfect detachment.

In addition the poet compares himself with the wandering cloud in the beginning of the poem because he perceives himself as aimless and as passive as a cloud, which depends completely on the weather and nature for its direction and speed. Being lonely like a floating cloud in the sky, the poet experiences freedom and loneliness at the same time. The freedom allows the poet to appreciate the beauty of the world whole-heartedly, such as the daffodils. As a powerless and aimless cloud, the poet could only watch and appreciate, but he could not join the daffodils in dancing and fluttering in the breeze.

The reader might conclude that the poet recognizes himself as an outcast in his society; that he feels he can only watch silently from afar. The continuing use of the image may further suggest to us that the poet may not be satisfied with what he observes of social affairs and is away from the social trend as he is looking at things from a distance. There is always a distance, psychologically and physically, between the daffodils and the poet. At the end the poet remains living in solitude, but the moment of the daffodils is in his heart, treasured and appreciated.This comparison is quite effective in a sense that it captures the helplessness and a sense of lost of the poet, it also captures the infinite distance between the passive pensive aimlessly cloud (the poets’ solitude) and the active cheerful daffodils (happiness).

Question 7.
How is he affected by the experience of seeing the daffodils?
Answer:
He is delighted by the wonderful sight. This is explicitly revealed in the use of diction of ‘bliss’ and ‘pleasure’, and he is so happy that his heart seems to dance with the daffodils. He also feels the bliss of solitude, because it is peaceful and comfortable to be alone sometimes in such a huge open area, and seeing the flowers, he wants to become a part of them. In the beginning, he’s aloof and prefers to stay in his comfort zone, “Which is the bliss of solitude”. But when he witnesses the “gay” daffodils, he has a desire to be part of the world he has been observing, to join the “crowd” and to belong to the happiness.

“And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.” The fact that only his heart “dances with the daffodils suggests that spiritually, he feels like he belongs to the group; physically, he still doesn’t dare to step out from his little world. Though it may seem that he has stepped out of his comfort zone, still it is only a desire in his heart. Again this may suggest that he enjoys living in a better little world on his own rather than the harsh reality of existing in society degraded by humans although he can still feel the beauty of nature.

Question 8.
How does the poem make use of contrast? Consider the contrast between the poet and the daffodils, and between his feeling before, while and after seeing the daffodils.
Answer:
The poet was wandering lonely and aimlessly as a cloud while the daffodils were together as a crowd and lively. He was a bit lost.He floats with the wind as a cloud purposelessly. Everything he saw and felt, eg. the breeze, the daffodils, effect his thoughts. He ‘wandered’, ‘floats’,’gazed’, he took a more passive and quiet way to observe the world. In contrast, the daffodils, took a more active part, they ‘fluttering and dancing’,’stretched…along the margin of a bay’,’tossing their heads’.they are enjoying in the breeze and the nice weather by energetically joining and responding to it.

‘They out-did the sparkling waves in glee’, this may suggest that the daffodils even make the world a more wonderful place to live in. The sparkling waves represent the mother nature while the daffodils symbolize human beings. The poet thinks that the dance of the daffodils is more attractive than the the waves. Somehow, deep down in the poet’s heart, he desires to join the daffodils and be as happy and joyful as they are. Futher more, the daffodils have roots deep down in the earth.

They are already tightly bound with each other. In contrast, the loneliness of the poet is then enhanced because everyone is enjoying being together, while he has no company at all. Before he sees the daffodils, he is lonely and detached and uses the word “wandering” to describe his aimless floating. As soon as he sees the crowd of “sprightly” daffodils, he is brought to think about the meaning of his life. After seeing the daffodils, he finds out that his heart is filled with pleasure. He feels a lot more relieved. However, he still has not joined the daffodils and the nature completely.The experience he had of the nature and daffodils is good memory to him and his heart ‘opened’ a bit, but overall he is more or less the same with his ‘vacant or in pensive mood’.

Extra Questions

Question 1.
What does Wordsworth compare the daffodils to? Is the comparison appropriate?
Answer:
The writer is amazed by the daffodils’ number and beauty, thus he compares the daffodils
with the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way continuously, and also refers them as personified characters, a crowd that dances and flutters in the breeze, and tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Question 2.
Identify examples of the following devices in the poem: alliteration, personification, rhyme, rhythm. How do these devices contribute to the overall effect of the poem?
Answer:
The use of Alliteration is evident in: “Beside” and “Beneath” (stanza l),”Ten” and “Thousand”
(stanza 2).”Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”, are the uses assonance, of “s” sound which sounds soft and comfortable. Simile is used when daffodils and stars are compared. Emphasis is evident in the the lively pace of the flowers’ “continuously”. The poet uses personification: daffodils dancing, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The flowers share the same happiness as the poet has. Repetition is used with the word gazed to emphasize that he wanted to join in the hilarious dance of the flowers.
The literary device of inversion:

1. “Continuous as the stars that shine… the margin of a bay”
2.  “Ten thousand saw I at a glance”

Question 3.
What do you think is the poet’s attitude towards the following 3 things: nature, memory, loneliness?
Answer:
The poet clearly shows appreciation and love for nature and it is very influential.However his strong feeling of loneliness never fades away even when he sees the beautiful .absorbing and cheerful sceneries of the daffodils. He is deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, and it remains a very good memory to him. Whenever he is in his ‘pensive mood’ and feeling ‘vacant’, perhaps emotionally and physically, the good memory of the daffodils flash back to him as a ‘bliss’ and ‘pleasure’, which release him for a while from the loneliness and ‘solitude’ that he is experiencing.

Question 4.
Which line(s)/stanza(s) do you enjoy most? Why?
Answer:
The lines I enjoy the most are:

1. A host, of golden daffodils;
   Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
   Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
2. Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
   Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

These lines impress because they create a colourful, lively and beautiful word picture which uplifts the mood and spirit of the reader.

Question 5.
Who are ‘they’ referred to in the third line of the last stanza? When had the poet come across them?
Answer:
The ‘they’ referred to in the third line of the last stanza are the lively and beautiful dancing daffodils. The poet had earlier seen them when he was wandering in solitude over hills and valleys and he had suddenly come across a multitude f daffodils beside a lake dancing in the breeze.

Question 6.
Explain the phrase ‘bliss of solitude’ in the context in which it has been used.
Answer:
The phrase ‘bliss of solitude’ implies that solitude is pleasant as it gives the poet the opportunity to dwell on the memory of the daffodils dancing in the breeze. lt is only when he is free and alone that the sight of the daffodils flashes upon his imagination and he can once again experience the happiness he had earlier felt. But this happens only in solitude.

Question 7.
What do you think is the message of the poem?
Answer:
The message of the poem is that the little moments in life could be the most profound. He felt that nature gives man peace and joy and is a constant source of happiness. He believed that man and nature are one.

Question 8.
Why does the poet use the word ‘wandered’?
Answer:
“Wandered” means roaming around without a purpose, like when you explore something. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But in its metaphorical use, “wandered” can mean feeling purposeless and directionless in general.

Question 9.
The poet uses the word lonely in reference to a cloud. Explain.
Answer:
The first concept that we want to take a look at is that the cloud is “lonely.” Are clouds lonely? Well, maybe the ones that float about valleys (“vales”) and hills are lonely. It’s more likely, the speaker is projecting his own loneliness on the clouds. But that still doesn’t explain the strange image, because clouds usually travel in groups. Maybe a cloud is lonely because it is so far above the rest of the world. Its thoughts are just so “lofty,” and maybe the speaker’s thoughts are, too.Also, the cloud could be lonely because it floats over a natural landscape with no people in it. Maybe the speaker has thought of hills and valleys because he happens to be “wandering” through such a landscape.

Question 10.
Explain the use of words like ‘fluttering’ and ‘dancing’ as used by the poet.
Answer:
“Fluttering” suggests, flight, which could bring us to angels or even birds or butterflies.”Dancing” is something that usually only humans do. The daffodils are given the qualities of humans and also of some kind of otherworldly creatures, perhaps.

Question 11.
The poet compares the flowers to the milky way. Is the comparison apt?
Answer:
Like the Milky Way , the flowers are roughly concentrated in a line that seem to stretch as far as the eye can see (“never-ending”). The flowers line the shore (“margin”) of a bay of the lake, which must be a relatively large lake.The Milky Way appears to be a band that has more stars and a brighter appearance than the night sky around it. It’s not a perfectly clear line, but more like a fuzzy approximation of a line. We imagine the same effect with the flowers. It’s not as if there are no flowers outside the shore of the lake, but most of them are concentrated on the shore. So to a large extent the comparison is apt.

Question 12.
How does the poet describe the flowers by using personification?
Answer:
The speaker takes in “ten thousand” dancing flowers at once. The flowers “toss their heads” while dancing to the wind. By “heads” we think he means the part of the flower with the petals, the weight of which causes the rest of the flower to bob. “Sprightly” means happily or merrily. The word derives from “sprite,” which refers to the playful little spirits that people once thought inhabited nature. “Sprites” are supernatural beings, almost like fairies. The day that inspired this poem was a stormy one, so the waves on this medium-to-large sized lake must have been larger than usual. Maybe they were even cresting into whitecaps.The point is that the entire scene has suddenly been invested with a joyful human-like presence. Since waves do not bring as much joy as the yellow flowers, the flowers “out-did” the water with their happiness. The waves “sparkle,” which creates yet another association with the stars. Everything seems to be gleaming and twinkling and shining-and sparkling.Despite his earlier loneliness, the speaker now can’t help but feel happy, or “gay,” with such a beautiful vision to look at.Or, as he puts at, with such joyful and carefree (“jocund”) “company” to hang out with. The flowers and waves feel like companions to him.

Question 13.
Explain the following:
They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;
Answer:
Whenever the poet gets in a pensive mood, the image of the daffodils “flashes” through his mind. The “inward eye” or his imagination expresses what Wordsworth felt to be a deeper, truer spiritual vision. A person cannot share his or her own spiritual vision completely with others, and so it is a form of “solitude.” But its truth and beauty make it “blissful.” When the memory of the flowers and the lake flashes into his head, he feels happy again. It’s almost like the same experience he had while “wandering” through nature at the beginning of the poem, when the real daffodils pushed the loneliness out of his head.The memory of the daffodils is as good as the real thing. His heart is set to dancing, just like the flowers. He dances along “with” them – they are his cheerful companions once again.

Question 14.
Analyse the symbol of Clouds, Sky, and Heavens.
Answer:
“I wandered lonely as a Cloud” has the remote, otherworldly atmosphere that is suggested by the title. The speaker feels like a cloud, distant and separated from the world below. But this distance becomes a good thing when he comes upon the daffodils, which are like little stars. It’s as if the problem at the beginning is that he hasn’t ascended high enough.The beginning of the poem makes a simile between the speaker’s wandering and the “lonely” distant movements of a single cloud. Clouds can’t be lonely, so we have another example of personification.The second stanza begins with a simile comparing the shape and number of the daffodils to the band of stars that we call the Milky Way galaxy.

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Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 6 Notes – Daffodils – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Poem

The poem is a word picture of daffodils at Ullswater. In 1802 William and Dorothy Wordsworth’s visited Glencoyne Park. On 15th April 1802, they passed the strip of land at Glencoyne Bay, called Ullswater.

It is this visit that gave Wordsworth the inspiration to write this famous poem. The poem ‘Daffodils’, also known by the title ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’, is a lyrical poem written by William Wordsworth in 1804. William Wordsworth is a well-known romantic poet who believed in conveying simple and creative expressions through his poems. He once said, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility”

The poem was inspired by an event on 15 April 1802, in which Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy came across a “long belt” of daffodils. William Wordsworth wrote Daffodils on a stormy day in spring, while walking along with his sister Dorothy near Ullswater Lake, in England. He imagined that the daffodils were dancing and invoking him to join and enjoy the breezy nature of the fields.

Written some time between 1804 and 1807 (in 1804 by Wordsworth’s own account), it was first published in 1807 in Poems in Two Volumes, and a revised version was published in 1815. In a poll conducted in 1995 by the BBC Radio 4 Bookworm programme to determine the nation’s favourite poems, this poem came fifth. Often anthologised, the poem is commonly seen as a classic of English romantic poetry.

About the Poet

On April 7, 1770, William Wordsworth was born in Cocker mouth, Cumbria, England. Wordsworth’s mother died when he was eight—this experience shapes much of his later work. Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar School, where his love of poetry was firmly established and, it is believed, he made his first attempts at verse. While he was at Hawkshead, Wordsworth’s father died leaving him and his four siblings orphans. After Hawkshead, Wordsworth studied at St. John’s College in Cambridge and before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, an experience that influenced both his poetry and his political sensibilities. While touring Europe, Wordsworth came into contact with the French Revolution. This experience as well as a subsequent period living in France, brought about Wordsworth’s interest and sympathy for the life, troubles, and speech of the “common man.” In 1802, he returned to France with his sister on a four- week visit to meet Caroline. Later that year, he married Mary Hutchinson, a childhood friend, and they had five children together. In 1812, while living in Grasmere, two of their children—Catherine and John—died.

Equally important in the poetic life of Wordsworth was his 1795 meeting with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It was with Coleridge that Wordsworth published the famous Lyrical Ballads in 1798. Wordsworth’s most famous work, The Prelude (1850), is considered by many to be the crowning achievement of English romanticism. The poem, revised numerous times, chronicles the spiritual life of the poet and marks the birth of a new genre of poetry. Although Wordsworth worked on The Prelude throughout his life, the poem was published posthumously. Wordsworth spent his final years settled at Rydal Mount in England, travelling and continuing his outdoor excursions. Devastated by the death of his daughter Dora in 1847, Wordsworth seemingly lost his will to compose poems. William Wordsworth died at Rydal Mount on April 23, 1850, leaving his wife Mary to publish The Prelude three months later.

Central Idea

The central idea of the poem is the expression of the comfort and cheering the author finds in the beauty of observing the daffodils. The poem expresses the idea of communion with nature and the tranquillity it brings in our lives. The poem is a tribute to the beautiful daffodils and the joy that is inherent in nature.

Word Meanings

1. Wander (Verb) – To walk slowly around or to a place, often without any particular sense of purpose or direction.
2. Float (Verb) – To move slowly on water or in the air.
3. Vale (Noun) – Valley
4. Fluttering (Noun) – A quick, light movement.
5. Toss (Verb) – To move one’s head this way or that.
6. Sprightly (Adjective) – Full of life and energy.
7. Outdo (Verb) – Surpass.
8. Glee (Noun) – A feeling of happiness.
9. Gay (Adjective) – Happy and full of fun.
10. Jocund (Adjective) – Cheerful
11. Gaze (Verb) – To look steadily at somebody /something for a long time.
12. Pensive (Adjective) – Thinking deeply about something, especially because you are sad or worried.
13. Bliss (Noun) – Extreme happiness.
14. Solitude (Noun) – The state of being alone, especially when you find this pleasant.

Critical Appreciation

This simple poem, one of the loveliest and most famous in the Wordsworth canon, revisits the familiar subjects of nature and memory, with a particularly (simple) spare, musical eloquence. The plot is extremely simple, depicting the poet’s wandering and his discovery of a field of daffodils by a lake, the memory of which pleases him and comforts . him when he is lonely, bored, or restless. The characterization of the sudden occurrence of a memory—the daffodils “flash upon the inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude”— is psychologically acute, but the poem’s main brilliance lies in the reverse personification of its early stanzas. The speaker is metaphorically compared to a natural object, a cloud— “I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high…”, and the daffodils are continually personified as human beings, dancing and “tossing their heads” in “a crowd, a host.” This technique implies an inherent unity between man and nature, making it one of Wordsworth’s most basic and effective methods for instilling in the reader the feeling the poet so often describes himself as experiencing.

This poem, is well-loved because of its simple yet beautiful rhythms and rhymes, and its rather sentimental topic. The poem consists of four six-line stanzas, each of which follow an ababcc rhyme scheme and are written in iambic tetrameter, giving the poem a subtle back-and-forth motion that recalls the swaying, daffodils. The poem comprises four stanzas and each stanza has six lines. There is the use of alliteration and assonance. The poet has used simile in the title of the poem and in the second stanza. Daffodils are animated as dancing and further personified as ‘sprightly’. Metaphors like inward eye and the heart can be found in the poem. The language is simple in this poem. By comparing himself to a cloud in the first line of the poem, the speaker signifies his close identification with the nature that surrounds him. He also demonstrates this connection by personifying the daffodils several times, even calling them a “crowd” as if they are a group of people.

The poem goes through a gradual shift:from wandered lonely (line 1) to but be gay (line 15) and pleasures fill (line 23). This in actual reflects Wordsworth’s life. The feeling of loneliness was marked by the death of his brother John. Dorothy had been a great sister to Wordsworth and also Wordsworth got married in the same year 1802 (his second marriage). These life events were actually responsible for Wordsworth’s happiness in his life and thus correlates with the joyful Daffodils.

Daffodils analysis will be incomplete without illustrating the tone of the poem. This poem is typically Wordsworth an. It portrays Nature at its best and encompasses her grace to the pinnacle which every poet cannot reach. It projects Wordsworth’s extraordinary delight in understanding and exploring common place things. Emotions recollected in tranquility are the distinct factor which differentiates Wordsworth from other poets. The emotions associated with Wordsworth in this poem, Daffodils is not ephemeral but rather permanent and everlasting. The poet derives the same bliss from his thoughts about the daffodils as when he actually saw them.

They flashed upon the inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude:
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dance with the daffodils.

The first three stanzas deal with the description of the nature whereas last stanza is the recollection of the poet’s experiences. Another important romantic element is the spontaneous expression of personal emotion in simple and ordinary language: this was the revolution brought about by the Romantic Movement.

In his lonely condition, he could be compared to a cloud floating in the sky over hills and valley. All at once he saw a large number of golden daffodils growing under the trees on the bank of the lake. A light breeze was blowing and the daffodils moved gently and danced merrily in the breeze. The daffodils grew along the bank of the lake in a line that extended as far as the poet’s eyes could reach. They looked like a continuous line of stars shining in the Milky Way. The flowers were so many that the poet imagined he could have seen at least ten thousand of them at a glance.

They were tossing their heads in a merry dance. The waves in the lake were dancing too. But the daffodils excelled the dancing waves in happiness. It was quite natural for a poet to feel happy in such a delightful company. The beautiful sight filled him with a great joy, and he kept gazing at the flowers for a long time. At that time he did not, however, realize how valuable this scene would prove to him in the years to come. Later, whenever the poet lay on his couch in a sad or thoughtful mood the daffodils would flash in his imagination. He acknowledges that one of the greatest blessings that solitude can offer is that old memories can be easily and vividly revived. The memory of the daffodils would immediately fill his heart with pleasure and he would begin to dance along with the flowers.And then the poet’s mind starts dancing along with the daffodils as the sheer memory of them is enough to feel his heart with ecstasy. The poem, in this way is not only a description of natural beauty but also a celebration of the fact that nature is always a source of inspiration for people.

The idea of remembering the beauty of nature even when not in its presence appears in several of Wordsworth’s later poems, including “Tintern Abbey,” “Ode; Intimations of Immortality,” and “The Solitary Reaper.” Even though the speaker is unable to appreciate the memory he is creating as he stands in the field, he later realizes the worth that it takes on in sad and lonely moments.

The title is apt as the whole poem is about the daffodils and how they have become a source of perennial joy to him.

The poem depicts a clear shift from the real world full of tensions to the utopian world of nature where peace and happiness prevail. The very opening line , ‘ I wandered lonely as a cloud,’ shows the poet’s sense of loneliness. There is then a sudden shift to the beautiful world of nature where the beautiful flowers capture his attention, and he is transported to another world of bliss.

The form of the poet is a lyric. It gives expression to a single feeling of joy in nature. It is short and musical and appeals more to the heart than the intellect. The poet uses various literary devices. Personification is used when he compares himself to a ‘cloud’ and the daffodils to a ‘crowd’. He uses similes when he compares his idle wanderings to a cloud floating over hills and valleys. He then compares the dancing daffodils to the twinkling stars in the sky.

As for structure the poem is divided into four stanzas- each having six lines with the rhyme scheme of ababcc in iambic tetrameter.

Alliteration can be seen in the line,’ I gazed and gazed.’
Inversion is evident : ‘For oft, when on my couch I lie’.
The ‘inward eye’ refers metaphorically to the poet’s memory.
The poem has a light and delicate sound that reminds us of a dance. It is the dance of the speaker’s heart, described at the end of the poem. The stanzas are like mini-poems that share the same form and subject matter.

One of the big ideas of Romanticism is the notion that the spiritual vision – the imagination – can hold greater truths than those given by our senses. We can never fully express what goes on in our imagination, but the notion of an “inner eye” captures the sense of reality that it gives us. Wordsworth is all about that “inner eye.”

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