“Daffodils” by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth is one of the first generation who contributes in the rising of
romantic literature. In fact, he and his friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, are considered as a major
factor in the beginning of romanticism through the publication of their significant book entitled
Lyrical Ballads. Later on, Wordsworth adds a preface, in which he includes his ideas and beliefs
about poetry, for so-called Lyrical Ballads, which contain most of Wordsworth`s works.
Wordsworth is convinced that he is a simple man who likes simplicity in everything. However,
he used to believe in the power of senses as a source of knowledge, which some philosophers
call for at his time. Therefore, he has some kind of internal conflict whether to follow what he is,
his conviction, or what he believes. At the end, he rebels against the latter, his belief, and starts
to search for another option that matches with his reality, (i.e. simplicity), which he finds in
nature. Such an idea about his strong relation with nature is presented in his poem called
“Daffodils”. The poem talks about the speaker taking a walk in the nature in which he sees
different parts of it including the “Daffodils” and his refection about the whole scene. Many
romantic features can be seen in this poem such as emotions and feelings, simplicity and love for
nature.

First of all, there is the touch on the emotions and feelings. From the very beginning,
Wordsworth declares that he is feeling sad and lonely. He says: “I WANDER`D lonely as a
cloud”. Look as the choice of words, he didn`t say “walked” or “took around”. Instead, he says
“WANDERED” which describes his state accurately; he is walking without any purpose or aim.
Simply, one can say that he is lost; he cannot find himself in his material world which is full of
worries, concerns, and chains. Thus, he decides to give himself a break and so he goes to walk in
nature hoping that this will help him getting rid of his despair and depression. Such feelings the
poet used to have are gradually being changed under the effect of the beauty of nature. This is
justified by the poet`s words and expressions, such as: “A poet could not but be gay” and “And
then my heart with pleasure fills” and many others. The former expression reflects the poet`s
excitement while watching the scene of daffodils at the present time. But the latter shows the
poet`s happiness while remembering the scene that has happened before. So, one can see that
emotions and feelings are not limited to one kind of feelings either happy ones or sad. Actually,
it combines between all kinds of feelings and expands to involve the feelings of all times; past,
present, and future.

Next, simplicity is clearly found in the poem. It is agreed upon that simplicity is an
important feature of the romantic period in general. The romantics believe in the equality of
people, that`s why they want their works to be for all people. To achieve this, they consider
simplicity as the major element that must be found in their works. Regarding Wordsworth, he is
fond of simple life in which common people are living such a humble and rustic life. Unlike the
pervious era, he would choose common, ordinary people as a topic for his works, but such kind
of people are distinguished from others for their high sensibility. In the poem “Daffodils”,
simplicity can be viewed in three aspects: diction, style, and subject matter. Simplicity in diction
means that the language is simple and easily understood and that is the way with Wordsworth`s
“Daffodils”. Simplicity in style refers to the smooth use of figures of speech or literary devices
without any complication. Such devices involves the simile in “I WANDER`D lonely as a cloud”
in which the poet makes himself as a cloud. This simile has many interpretations; it either shows
the poet`s freedom or his movement without a specific destination, the same as the cloud, or
indicates the poet`s superiority over others. Besides, there is the simile in “Continuous as the
stars that shine” in which the poet compares the daffodils to the stars for their beauty. Another
device is personification. For example, in the poet`s description of the daffodils, he says:
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” and “Tossing their heads in spritely dance” in which
“dancing” and “heads”, which are characteristics of humans, are being attached to non-human
daffodils. The same goes for the last line of the poem in which the poet describes the effect of the
memory of the daffodils scene on his heart. He says about his heart: “And dances with the
daffodils”. Regarding the simplicity of subject matter, it is clear enough that the topic of the
poem is simple and talks about an action from our daily life. The poet walks around and notices a
great amount of daffodils that attracts him and pleases him so much. Therefore, he reflects that
experience through his poem which in itself is a simple one.

Most importantly, the poem shows the love for nature. Such kind of feelings towards
nature doesn`t come from nowhere; it has its own origins. To make it clear, Wordsworth used to
live near the beautiful river Cocker which helps him to have such deep appreciation of nature.
This means that his love of nature is born during his childhood. So, of course, as the time passes,
his love for nature will only increase. In the poem “Daffodils”, the poet starts with declaring his
state of sadness and despair, but later on after a walk in nature, his state has been changed totally.
He is happy now; he is no longer that gloomy person since the beauty of nature doesn`t affect
him momentarily, but whenever he feels depressed, he would lay on his couch and remember
that scene of nature, including the daffodils, and; therefore, returns to the good mood again. So,
for the poet, nature is a source of relaxation, comforting; it is the resort and the refuge where
troubled people run into to get rid of their worries, concern, problems and negative feelings and
thoughts. The poet`s love for nature can also be seen in his choice of words and organization of
elements in the poem. To begin with, the whole poem is basically about the daffodils which are
part of nature. Not only that, the other elements that the poet places in the poem are also natural
elements, such as: “…….. as a cloud/ That floats on high o`ver vales and hills”, “Beside the lake,
beneath the trees”, “breeze”, “stars”, “Milky Way”, ....., etc. Moreover, the poet states that he has
a good relationship with the daffodils, or nature, and this is justified with the word “host” which
indicates that the poet is welcomed and received by the daffodils with joy and happiness. All of
this shows the unity and connection between the poet and the nature.

In short, William Wordsworth is one of the pioneers who contribute in the rising of
romantic literature. With the publication of Lyrical Ballads, written by him along with Samuel
Coleridge, some critics consider it as the beginning of the romantic period. This Lyrical Ballads
includes most of Wordsworth`s poems; one of which is “Daffodils”. In this poem, the poet walks
in nature and then expresses his feeling towards nature and its effect on him. Since the poet is
interested in simplicity, this simplicity can be found in the poem; in its diction, style and subject
matter. Then at the end, the whole poem can be summarized in the concept of nature and its
effects.