Daffodils

William Wordsworth

The Poet
William Wordsworth was the first great poet of the romantic period ( 18th & 19th century).
He was educated in a school where he was allowed to roam the countryside and come close
to the life of country people . This early contact with nature influenced his poetry
His belief or concept of poetry
It was a spontaneous (natural feeling)overflow of powerful emotion recollected in
tranquility. (peace , calm)
The Romantic elements
1-The use of simple language of common people as the language of poetry .
2-The liberation of imagination .
3-The great love of countryside and speaking of a man related to a natural phenomenon
4-Personification of abstract things .
5-Recollection of past events .
6-Loneliness .
7-Giving the supremacy to children than a grown-up man .
*The poem is a lyrical poem (full of pleasure) ababcc

TheFirst Stanza
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills.
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils ;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Vocabularies :
Daffodils : yellow young flowers O’er : over vales : small valleys
Wandered : walked aimlessly host : a great number
Lonely : feeling alone fluttering : moving tremblingly
Floats : moves without weight Breeze : gentle wind
Paraphrase
Wordsworth starts the poem by saying that when he was walking alone as a cloud
that is wandering in the sky,when he suddenly saw a number of yellow daffodils beside
a lake, under some trees . They were moving in the wind as if they were dancing .
The second stanza :
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way ,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay :
Ten thousand saw I at a glance ,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Vocabularies :
twinkle : shine glance : quick look
Milky Way : number of stars in the sky.
margin : edge sprightly : lively
tossing their heads : moving their heads up proudly

Paraphrase :
There was a long line of those daffodils along the shore of the lake . They looked like the stars
that shine at night in the Milky Way in the sky . They were so many , that I thought there must
be ten thousand of them , there by the river.
The third stanza
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee :
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company :
I gazed-and gazed but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought :

Vocabularies :
Out-did : excelled – did better than
sparkling : shining
glee : happiness
jocund : merry – happy
Paraphrase :
The water in the lake beside them was moving as if it too were dancing , but the daffodils
seemed to be even happier than the water . The daffodils’ happiness made the poet happy
too . He stood looking at them for a long time but even then he didn’t realize the extent of
the gift which they had brought him .
The fourth stanza :
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood ,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude ;
And then my heart with pleasure fills ,
And dances with the daffodils .
Vocabularies :
oft : often mood : state of mind
couch : bed or long chair flash : appear suddenly
Vacant : empty , not thinking at all solitude : loneliness
pensive : thoughtful inward eye : the mind’s eye
bliss : heavenly happiness
Paraphrase :
The daffodils which the poet saw had a lasting impression on him that he could draw
upon in later years . It often happens when he lies on his bed , feeling unhappy or
thoughtful ,he suddenly remembers the daffodils as he saw them that day .
When that happens, his heart fills with pleasure and becomes happy .
*What are the romantic elements in Daffodils ?
1-Loneliness { he is wandering lonely alone }
2- He likens himself to a phenomenon in nature as [ clouds ]
3- His communion with nature [ I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high over
vales and hills ]
4- The importance of recollection in the last stanza . It is written not in the presence of
Daffodils but the joy of looking back at the past events. He recalls them in the moments
of solitude .
*In the first stanza Wordsworth makes effective use of sharp contrast . Discuss
- He made contrast between the loneliness of the poet and the group of Daffodils .
- Also between the floating of the clouds over valleys and the dancing of daffodils beside
lakes or beneath trees . Here he is recalled to earth by a natural beauty .
-Also between the slowness of wandering and floating and the quickness of dancing and
Fluttering .
*Wordsworth used his wonderful gifts of imagery by way of comparison . Discuss
- He pictures the daffodils like the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way .
- The daffodils share the golden glittering colour with the stars while with the waves
they share the joyous dancing movement .
*Figures of speech :
1- Simile: Daffodils as stars / wandered lonely as a cloud
He creates bonds between various objects in nature .
2- Personification :
The daffodils are presented as if they are people .
1- fluttering and dancing in the breeze .
2- tossing their heads
3- the waves are dancing
4- my heart dances with the daffodils