The Daffodils 2 nd Secondary

The Daffodils
By William Wordsworth
The Poet
William Wordsworth is the greatest romantic poet of all ages. He lived and studied in the countryside where he
was close to the life of the country people. This influenced hispoetry. He always wrote about man in connection
with nature which is his main interest. In 1843 he received the best award England gives to its poets.
The poem The paraphrase
I wandered lonely as a cloud a I was walking around alone like a cloud that is wandering in
That floats on high o'er vales nd hills, b the sky, when suddenly I saw a large number of yellow
When all at once I saw a crowd, a flowers dancing and moving in the wind beside the lake, under
b the trees.
A host, of golden daffodils;
c
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, c
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine a The daffodils stretched in a long line along the edge of the
And twinkle on the Milky Way, b lake. They looked like the stars that shine at night in the Milky
They stretched in never-ending line a Way in the sky. They were so many, that I thought there are
b ten thousands, there by the river.
Along the margin of a bay:
c
Ten thousand saw I at a glance, c
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they a The water in the lake beside them was moving
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: b as if it too were dancing, but the daffodils seemed to be even
A poet could not but be gay, a happier than the water .The
In such a jocund company! b daffodils’ happiness made me happy too.
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought c I stood looking at them for a long time but even then I did not
What wealth the show to me had brought: c realize the extent of the gift which they had brought me.
For oft, when on my couch I lie a Now, it often happens that when I lie on my bed, free or
b thoughtful,I suddenly remember the daffodils as I saw
In vacant or in pensive mood,
a
They flash upon that inward eye them that day. When that happens,my heart fills with
b
Which is the bliss of solitude; c pleasure and Iam happy.
And then my heart with pleasure fills, c
And dances with the daffodils.
Commentary
1. The poem is a lyrical one. The rhyme is (ababcc).
2. The poem begins with a picture typical to romantic work; that is the poet wandering alone against a
background of nature.
3. The first line contains three romantic elements: the poet is wandering, the poet is alone, he likens
himself to a natural element a cloud.
4. The poet is not writing about himself alone, he is writing about himself in connection with nature.
Stanza one:
1. The poet makes effective use of Sharp contrasts:
 Wandering lonely X a crowd of daffodils.
 The solitariness of the poet X the company of daffodils
 The clouds floating on high X the daffodils dancing beside the lake, beneath the trees
 The poet soaring ‫ يحلق‬in the air X called to earth by natural beauty
 The slowness of “wandering” and “floating” X the quickness of “fluttering ” and “dancing”
2. The stanza is affected by an aimlessness followed by a focus of attention on a beautiful natural
object. Also from contemplating “thinking in” himself to contemplating of an external object.
Stanza Two:
 The Daffodils 2 nd Secondary

1. This stanza is a description of the daffodils moving in the wind with introducing another
beautiful natural object “the stars”.
2. Simile line 1 likening the daffodils to stars creating bonds between the various natural objects
he is dealing with. What the daffodils have in common with the stars is their sparkling golden
colour.
Stanza Three:
1. Comparisonbetween the daffodils dance and the waves, the daffodils danced better. What the
daffodils have in common with the waves is their joyous dancing movement.
2. The poet returns to himself and describes the relationship between himself and the flowers. The
flowers have a happy effect upon him,
From wandering alone to becoming one of a happy company.
Stanza Four(last):
1. The poet turns completely to the effect of the daffodils upon him. Not the immediate ‫ سريع‬effect
but the influence ‫ التأثير‬they will continue to exercise over him for a long while. The daffodils
will give him the gift of happiness whenever he recalls (remembers) them.
General points:
 The poet didn’t use literal description as “”moving“ but he describes them with some:
1. Metaphors Fluttering and dancing”. Stanza one
“Tossing their heads” stanza two
“a jocund company” stanza three
These descriptions attributes‫ صفات‬of human being. Thus he endows (provides) the
waves with more vivid colour.
2. The importance of recollection ‫ التذكر‬is clear in Wordsworth’s theory of poetry. In his
recollection of the daffodils he lives over the first experience with them.
3. This poem is written not in the presence of the daffodils but in the presence of their memory.