William Wordsworth was a huge worshipper of nature and this Daffodil poem illustrated his love for nature and how his treatment of nature is unique then the rest of the poets who adore and love nature and use it in their poems. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” meaning gives you the impression that this poem which you are about to read is going to be the saddest poem that you’ll ever read and after reading it you’ll feel as lonely as ever but, when you do, you realize that this poem contains a lot of pleasure and joy and also the eternal source of that happiness for you and your sad and lonely moments, therefore the readers like to call this poem by the name of “Daffodils” than the entire phrase “I wandered lonely as a cloud”.
Summary of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”:
The poet was once wandering over the valleys and hills when
all of a sudden he came across a huge amount of dancing golden Daffodils. They were about ten thousand in just one
glimpse and the poet couldn't even see the ending line of those Daffodils. They were like the stars in The Milky Way
galaxy.
The Daffodils were
beside a lake. On that Lake, the Waves were seen to be dancing too but the
dance of Daffodils was way better than the dance of those waves. The sight gave the poet great joy and
whenever he is sad or empty inside that sight of dancing Daffodils fills his
heart with joy and makes it dance with the daffodils.
“I wandered lonely as a cloud” theme and analysis:
I wandered lonely as
a cloud analysis shows that the entire theme revolves around the beauty of
nature and how the poet uses figurative language such as metaphors, similes,
and hyperboles to describe that very beauty, in the best way possible. He used
metaphors and similes to compare the Daffodils with the stars on the Milky Way.
He personified the Daffodils by saying that they could dance and toss their
heads just like us human beings. He also used hyperboles to give us an estimated
amount of those Daffodils.
I wandered lonely as a cloud line by line explanation with
detailed paragraphing:
Stanza 1:
Poet here says that one day he without any purpose was just
moving around mountains and valleys. He says that his movement was the same as
clouds that don't have a specific destination and wonder as if they have no
care in the world. He says that he was wondering while he realized that he has
reached a point from where he could see a large number of golden-colored
Daffodils. According to him, those flowers were near a lake that had its own
beauty and were under the shade of trees. Those flowers that had stopped
William from wandering were moving their body as if they are in some sort of a
dance. This dance was mesmerizing for the poet and because of that beautiful
dance the poet that had no thought and was just wondering around now had a lot
to think of and a lot to wonder.
Stanza 2:
Now in the second stanza, William Wordsworth compares
Daffodils and their beauty with the stars that Shine In the Milky Way
galaxy. It has been estimated that the
amount of stars in a milky way is 200 to 400 million and some might say that
there maybe even more. William has used
that amount and he tells that as it is impossible for one to count the total
number of the stars likewise it is impossible for him to count all those
daffodils because their number is equal to the number of stars that a milky way
has. It was impossible for the poet to see where those Daffodils end. He also
says that those Daffodils were growing the same way as stars do in the sky. A
lake could also be seen near those flowers William says that he could see ten
thousand of them with just one glimpse, of course, he didn't count all those
flowers rather he just gave us a roundabout figure so that we could estimate
how many they were and all of them could be seen dancing lively by jerking
their heads in a very happy mood
Stanza 3:
In the third stanza the poet talks about both the Daffodils
and the waves that could be seen on the lake near Daffodils he says that they
both were dancing beautifully in front of me and that their company was giving
me an enormous amount of joy and pleasure the poet says that the dance of Daffodils
easily outclassed and surpassed the dance of waves of the lake, this is because
the dance of Daffodils was seen to be more joyous and happy than the dance of
the waves of the lake. William says that he was so moved by that scene that he
couldn’t help himself but rather just stare at those beautiful Golden flowers.
According to him seeing them both gave him a great amount of wealth and here,
by the wealth he means joy, happiness, and a great time that he'll cherish for the
rest of his life.
Stanza 4:
In the last stanza, the poet tells us that there comes a time when he is in a blank or sad mood where nothing or sometimes sad thoughts come into his mind and gives him an unpleasant and dissatisfying feeling and a sense of discomfort. He says that at that moment he likes to think about those dancing Daffodils that once gave him great joy. He says that he sees them not through his physical eyes but through his spiritual ones. According to him those thoughts for him are a huge source of blessing for him especially when he is alone. He says that those thoughts and memories fill his heart with joy and makes it dance with those Daffodils.
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