The Daffodils/ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud - Summary and Exercises
The Daffodils
Or
(I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud)
The Daffodils is a simple but an impressive poem composed by William Wordsworth in 1804.
It is an semi-autobiographical poem because it depends on a personal familial event. On April 15, 1802, the poet and his sister Dorothy went to their friends at Elsmere.
When they were returning back to Grasmere, they saw a large number of golden daffodils growing on the bank of a Lake Ullswater in the Lake District.
[Lake Ullswater]
The flowers were dancing beautifully with the breeze (gentle wind). Dorothy had even written about this scene in her journal (diary).
Later on, the remembrance of the beautiful scene inspired the poet to compose this poem, and he depended on Dorothy's journal (diary) while composing this poem.
When the poem was first published, its title was 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud', which is also the first line of the poem.
This line indicates about the loneliness of the poet. He felt this loneliness after the death of his brother John. But the sudden view of the endless daffodils by the side of the lake took way all his sad mood and filled his heart with joy and happiness. This is the healing effect of Nature.
William Wordsworth was a key figure of Romantic literary movement.
His famous definition of poetry is : Poetry is "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."
Some of the major topics of romantic poetry are painting the life of common people, visual beauty, love of nature, individualism and spiritualism.
This is a very typical poem of the romantic movement in English literature. It shows almost all the above features of Romanticism along with the use of a simple language.
Through this poem the poet gives the message to the readers that nature has the power to heal our miseries and make us lively again. So nature is the greatest gift to the human beings.
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2. Summary of the poem:
This is a semi-autobiographical poem. In this poem the speaker (here, the poet) tells us about his experience of when he was taking a lonely walk through a lake side, and what he saw there.
As we read the title, the poem seems to be about cloud. But as the reading proceeds, it becomes clear that it is all about 'flowers' and their effect upon the narrator.
As the poet was having a lonely walk through a lake side, all at once he came before a large group of daffodils blooming beside the bank of the lake under the trees there. The flowers were fluttering (moving with light motion from side to side). They were uncountable, spread from end to end, and looked like twinkling stars in the sky (the milky way).
Along with the flowers, the sparkling waves in the lake were also dancing there, but the dance of the flowers was far more better than the dance of the waves. The scene (of the dancing daffodils) filled his heart with joy and happiness and left an everlasting impression in his mind.
Whenever the poet is alone lying in his room, and is sad or thoughtful, the memory of the beautiful scene flashes upon his mind, and his heart starts dancing with pleasure.
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3. Stanza wise explanation of the poem :
First Stanza:
I wandered like a cloud
That floats on high o'ver 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.
Word Meanings :
(floats = moves slowly / vale = valley /fluttering = moving in a light motion))
Explanation :
The poem starts with the description of the poet's wandering through a lake side ' and what he saw there.
One day he was wandering all alone through a lake-side without any particular aim or purpose in his mind. Here he has compared himself to a cloud that wandered lonely over the vales (valleys) and hills.
There suddenly he came before an endless number of daffodils blooming there beside the lake under the trees.
[A host of golden daffodils]
There was a gentle wind blowing there and the flowers were moving beautifully with the wind. They were dancing beautifully.
The beauty of this stanza is that it contrasts the loneliness of the speaker (in the beginning) with a sudden companionship of the numerous daffodils, which eventually filled his heart with joy and happiness.
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 a sprightly dance.
Word Meanings:
(twinkle = shine/ stretched = spread/ margin =side/ bay = lake / at a glance = with a quick look / tossing = move from side to side)
Explanation :
This stanza continues the description of the dancing daffodils. They were on the margin of the bay. In other words, the flowers were spread out along the bay's boundaries.
Here the poet compares the daffodils to the stars in the milky way, which stretch as far as our eyes can see. In other words, the flowers were stretched from one end to another in a never ending line. They looked as innumerable as stars look twinkling in the sky (milky way). It was as if they were dancing sprightly (lively/ full of energy) moving their heads from side to side.
This comparison of the flowers with the starts shows that they (flowers) were heavenly as the stars.
This made the poet very happy, as he had never seen such a big number of daffodils at one sight.
Third Stanza :
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A Poet could not be but gay
In such a jocund company !
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
Word Meanings:
(out-did = did better than / sparkling = shining brightly/ glee = great happiness / (gazed and gazed = looked for a long time)
Explanation :
This stanza tells about an another dance taking place there, and also about the comparison between the two dances.
It was not only that the daffodils were dancing on the bank of the lake, the sparkling waves of the lake were also dancing there beautifully. It seemed as if they were competing with each other in their dances.
Comparing the two (the dance of the waves and the dance of the daffodils), certainly the daffodils outdid the waves. In other words, they were dancing far more better than the waves.
From the third line of the stanza we find the poet's responsiveness to the beautiful scene of the dancing flowers.
The poet says that he enjoyed the scene too much. He just gazed (to look at something for a long time) and gazed upon the beautiful scene. Although of course he didn't or couldn't think (realize) what wealth (here not money or property, but here wealth means spiritual pleasure) this scene had brought to him.
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 bless of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Word Meanings:
(oft = often / couch = here, sofa)
(vacant = empty/ pensive = thoughtful)
(flash = come quickly, suddenly)
(solitude = state of being alone)
[For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood]
Explanation :
We don't find any description of the flowers or their dances in this stanza. It tells us about what the wealth the scene of the dancing daffodils brought to the speaker (about which the poet mentioned in the third stanza).
The beautiful scene remained in the sub-conscious mind of the poet. Now, whenever he is all alone lying in low spirits or is in a thoughtful mood, the reflection of the beautiful dancing daffodils comes to his mind.
This memory of the daffodils takes away all his sorrows and boredom. It gives a relief to his heart. His heart is filled up with joy and happiness. It seems to him as if his heart is dancing with daffodils.
Thus the memory has become a source of joy to him in his solitude.
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4. Questions and Answers :
Questions and Answers of Extract (Stanza) One :
1. Who has been referred to as "I" in the first line of the extract ? Where do you think was he wandering?
Answer : The poet William Wordsworth has been referred to as "I" in the extract. He was wandering lonely through the bank of a lake.
2. What does the poet encounter while wandering ? Where does he encounter them ?
Answer : He encounters a large number of golden daffodils while wandering . He encounters them by the lake under the trees.
3. Why do you think the poet refers to the daffodils as golden ?
Answer : The daffodils were yellow in colour and and were shining as gold in the sun. For this reason the poet refers to them as golden.
It can also be said that by calling them golden the poet wants to express the richness of the scene.
4. Discuss the importance of the following lines with reference to the poem :
"Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
Answer : The poet tells us about the dancing daffodils in these lines. They were beside the lake and under the trees. Here the flowers have been personified, because they appear to be dancing there.
These lines are important because the scene drew the poet's attention, and changes his gloomy mood to a happier one.
5. Which figure of speech is used in the following lines ? How many daffodils do you think the poet saw ? Give reason for your answer.
"When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils,"
Answer : The figure of speech used here is 'hyperbole'. By the use of the words 'crowd' and 'host' we can say that he saw numerous, countless flowers there.
Questions and Answers of Extract (Stanza) Two
1. How are the daffodils compared to the stars ?
Answer : The poet has compared the flowers to the stars on the milky way.
As the stars on the milky way are numerous (uncountable in number), and twinkle and are stretched in a long line, in the same way the daffodils were also uncountable, they were twinkling, and were stretched in a line. The parts of speech used here is 'simile'.
2. What is the milky way ? Why is it referred to in the extract ?
Answer : Milky way is the galaxy of innumerable stars which includes our solar system too. It contains hundreds of billion of stars like our sun.
The poet has used the phrase (milky way) to give us the impression that the flowers were innumerable and and were shining as the stars do in the milky way.
3. What is meant by the margin of the bay ?
Answer : The margin of the means the edge of the lake.
4. State how the technique of using exaggeration heightens the poetic effect in the extract ?
Answer : The use of the words like 'crowd' or 'ten thousand' the example of exaggeration. By using this technique the poet tells that the flowers were countless while walking along the lake. This also shows the vastness of the area the flowers were in bloom.
5. Briefly describe the musical quality of the extract.
Answer : In poetry, musical quality is produced through several techniques such as rhyme, rhythm and sound effects.
This extract has an end rhyme, and the rhyme scheme is 'ab ab cc'.
Meter is a common form of rhythm, and the stanza follows iambic tetrameter. This also brings a musical quality.
Similarly the sound effects of this stanza also produces a musical effect.
To take only one example, the line 'continuous as stars that shine' has consonance and alliteration.
Such things together gives a musical quality to the extract.
Questions and Answers of Extract (Stanza) Three:
1.How did the daffodils outdo the waves ?
Answer : Although the waves and the daffodils both were dancing, but the flowers were dancing more delightfully fluttering and tossing their heads in the breeze. In this way they outdid the waves.
2. What is meant by jocund company ? Which jocund company is the poet referring to ? Why does the poet find it jocund ?
Answer : A jocund company is the companionship (friendship/ presence) which gives much joy, pleasure and happiness.
Here the poet is referring to the company of the dancing daffodils there on the shore of the lake.
The poet finds it jocund because the beautiful scene took away all his sadness, filling his heart with joy and pleasure.
3. Which wealth is referred to the by the poet. Explain how the wealth was brought by the poet ?
Answer : The wealth referred to here is the mental peace and pleasure that he derives (gets) remembering this scene in his room in a pensive (thoughtful) mood. The wealth was brought by observing the scene first, and then remembering it while alone.
4. What is the mood of the poet in the above extract? Which lines tell you so ? Why is he in such mood ?
Answer : The poet is in a happy and cheerful mood. The following lines tell us so :
"A poet could not be but gay
In such a jocund company"
He is in such a mood because of the soothing effect of the scene on his sad mood.
5. With reference to the above extract, state why Wordsworth can be called a nature poet ?
Answer : Wordsworth is known as a nature-poet. Nature used to give him joy and happiness and an inspiration of life.
In this stanza he says that he got happiness through the beautiful natural scene, this also proves that was a nature lover.
Questions and Answers of Extract (Stanza) four :
1. What happens to the poet when he lies down on his couch in a pensive mood ?
Answer : When he lies down on his couch in a pensive mood, the scene of the dancing daffodils flashes upon his mind and fills his heart with joy and pleasure.
2. What is the "bliss of solitude" referred to in the extract ? How does the bliss of solitude take place ?
Answer : The "bliss of solitude" is the sudden flash of the dancing daffodils in his mind when he is alone.
This takes place when he is all alone in his room, lying on his couch in a pensive mood.
3. Explain the transition from poet's pensive mood to his heart filled with joy.
Answer : In the beginning of the stanza the poet is in a pensive mood. Suddenly the scene of the dancing daffodils flashes upon his mind, this wipes out his pensiveness, and his heart fills up with joy and pleasure. That is the transition (change).
4. With reference to the last two lines of the extract state the influence that nature can have over an individual's mind.
Answer : Wordsworth's concept of nature is that nature is a source of natural inspiration. It has a healing power. Nature helps one to come out of a sad, pensive or unhappy mood.
In the last two lines he says that the moment he remembers the beautiful scene, his heart is filled with joy and happiness, and starts with the daffodils.
5. Wordsworth says that poetry is "the overflow of feelings arising from emotions recollected in tranquility". In this context, state how the poem shows the truth of his statement.
Answer : The simple meaning of this statement is that whenever a poet sees an object or a scene, he doesn't forget it. He lets it stay in his sub-conscious mind.
Later, when he remembers that in tranquility (restfulness), his emotions grow once more, and overflows. That over flowing of emotions is poetry.
In this case also, the poet saw the scene of the dancing daffodils before. But later sometime, when he remembers the scene in his room, his emotions overflow, and the result is the present poem.
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Some Additional Questions and Answers
Stanza 1.
Question 1. Who is the author of the poem ?
Answer : The author of the poem is William Wordsworth.
Question 2. Who is the speaker of the poem ?
Answer : The speaker of the poem is the poet William Wordsworth himself.
Question 3. Who is the "I" of the poem ?
Answer : The "I" of the poem is the poet himself.
Question 4. Who wandered like a lonely cloud and where ?
Answer : The poet wandered like a lonely cloud through the bank of a lake.
Question 5. With whom was the poet wandering ?
Answer : He was wandering all alone.
Question 6. With whom has the poet compared himself ?
Answer : The poet has compared himself with a piece of cloud which float (move in the sky) lonely through valleys and hills.
Question 7. Who did the poet see at once while wandering ?
Or
What did the poet come across while wandering ?
Answer : He came across a large number of golden daffodils.
Question 8. Where were the daffodils ?
Answer : They were beside the lake and beneath the trees there.
Question 9. What were the daffodils doing there ?
Answer : They were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Question 10 . Where do you find an example of simile in the stanza ?
Answer : We find an example of simile in the first line where the poet has compared himself with a wondering cloud. He says "I wondered lonely as a cloud".
Question 11. Where do you find an example of personification in the stanza ?
Answer : We find an example of personification in the last line of the stanza where the speaker says that the flowers were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Here he has put the human quality of dancing in the flowers.
Question 12. What daffodils mean to the poet ?
Answer : The daffodils represent the nature for him, which him provides solace (comfort) in a time of distress (mental pain or suffering) or sadness.
Stanza 2.
Question 1. What does 'they' refer to ?
Answer : Here 'they' refers to the dancing daffodils.
Question 2. Why have they been compared to the milky way ?
Answer : They have been compared to the milky way because the flowers were innumerable and were shining and twinkling as the stars do in the milky way.
Question 3. Pick out an example of personification from this stanza. What is the picture created by this description ?
Answer : Personification found here is that the flowers were "dancing sprightly (lively) tossing their heads".
The picture created by this is that the flowers and the entire nature were all in a happy state.
Question 4. What did the poet see at a glance ? Were they really ten thousand in number ?
Answer : The poet saw a large number of daffodils blooming there at a glance.
No, they were not really ten thousand in number, Here the phrase means that the daffodils were uncountable.
Question 5. Do you think the poet saw ten thousand daffodils at a glance ?
Answer : No, he didn't see ten thousand daffodils. What the poet wants to say that the flowers were innumerable.
Question 6. Find an example of rhyming couplet from this stanza.
Answer : The example of rhyming couplet in this stanza is --
"Ten Thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
Question 7. Find an example of Hyperbole (exaggeration) in this stanza.
Answer : We find the Hyperbole in the phrase "Ten Thousand I saw at a glance".
Stanza 3
Question 1. How many dances were there at that place ?
Answer : There were two dances at that place. Along with the daffodils, the little waves of the lake were also dancing there.
Question 2. How did 'they' outdo the waves ?
Answer : Here 'they' indicates the daffodils. They outdid the waves by dancing with a high spirited joy tossing their heads all the time.
Question 3. What do the waves refer to ?
Answer : The waves refer to the little shining ripples in the lake.
Question 4. How did the scene affect the poet ?
Answer : The scene captured the whole attention of the poet. It made him elated (extremely happy).
Question 5. Pick out three words that mean 'being happy' .
Answer :The three words that mean 'being happy' are: glee, gay and jocund.
Question 6. Find two examples of personification from these lines.
[Note : Personification is a poetic device where animals, plants or even inanimate objects are given human qualities.]
Answer : The two examples of personification are :
a> the waves dancing in the lake,
b> the daffodils outdoing the waves in the dance.
Question 7. What is the 'wealth' that the poet is referring to in this stanza ? What kind of poetic device is it ?
Answer : The wealth referred to in this stanza is the joy, happiness and solace (comfort/relief), the memory of which filled up his heart.
The poetic device here is Metaphor.
Question 8. Why does the poet refer to it as 'wealth' ?
Answer : He refers to it as 'wealth' because the memory of it has a cheerful effect on him. A calm and spiritually lifted heart is certainly a wealth.
Question 9. What is the mood of the poet in this stanza ? Which lines tell you so ? Why is he in such a mood ?
Answer : Here the mood of the poet is happy and joyful.
The lines "A poet could not be but gay/ In such a jocund company" tell about the poet's mood.
The beautiful dance of the waves and daffodils ended his loneliness, and thus he came in a pleasant mood.
Question 10. With the reference to the stanza why Wordsworth can be called a nature poet ?
Answer : Wordsworth is known as a nature poet. Nature used to give him extreme joy and happiness and inspiration of life.
In this stanza he clearly says that he got a pure pleasure by the sight of the dancing daffodils.
Stanza 4.
Question 1. When does the poet feel blissful ?
Answer : He feels blissful when the memory of the dancing daffodils flashes upon his mind, filling his heart with joy and happiness.
Question 2. Had the poet realized the importance of the scene when he had first seen it ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer : The poet was so mesmerized (captivated/ spellbound) by the beautiful scene of the dancing daffodils, that he could not realize of the scene when he had first seen it.
Question 3. Why does the poet refer to it as being a 'blissful' state ?
Answer : He refers to it as being a blissful state because he feels very happy in this state.
Question 4. What does the poet mean by 'inward eye' ?
or
What do you mean by 'inward eye' ?
Answer : Here inward eye means mind's eyes, the things that we think or remember. When we shut our physical eyes, our inward eyes open. It is our 'memory'.
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A Short Analysis of the Poem
1. Name of the poem : The Daffodils.
In its first publication the poem was published under the title "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'.
2. The Poet : William Wordsworth
[William Wordsworth April 7, 1770 -- April 23, 1850]
William Wordsworth is an English Romantic poet. He helped to launch the Romantic Age in English Literature.
Wordsworth's poetry is known for its simplicity. Nature and common people are the main themes of his poetry. He is known for his poems that explore the human relationship to nature, and the spiritual epistemological aspects of life.
Definition of poetry by William Wordsworth : "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origins from emotion recollected in tranquility."
3. Time Period :19th century. The poem was composed in 1804, and was first published in 1807.
4. Genre : It is a lyrical poem. It is a short poem and has a musical quality. Like other lyrics, it appeals to a single emotion, that is getting eternal pleasure from nature.
5. Speaker : The poem is presented in a narrative mode. The poet is giving us the narration of one of his lonely walks, what he came across while walking, and the effect of it on him.
The speaker of this poem is the poet himself.
6 . Form and Structure : This poem is in a simple form. There are altogether four stanzas in the poem, and they all have six lines each. We can also call it a Sestet. [A sestet is six lines of poetry forming a stanza or a complete ]
It has a regular rhyme scheme.
In each stanza the first line is rhyming with the third line, and the second line is rhyming with the fourth line. The fifth line rhymes with the sixth line. It follows the iambic tetrameter style.
The first three stanzas of the poem are in the past tense, because they tell us about his journey through the lake side.
But the fourth stanza is in the present tense, because here the speaker tells us about the everlasting effect of the scene on the speaker.
7. Rhyme Scheme : The rhyme scheme of this poem is 'ab/ ab/ cc'.
8. Meter : Iambic Tetrameter
9. Theme :
- Human's relationship with nature
- Happiness and Joyfulness
- The healing and refreshing effect of nature
- Memory: it tells us about one beautiful memory of the poet
10. Tone :
- Joyful and thoughtful
- Emotive
- Expressive
11: Mood : The mood of this poem changes from sad to cheerful. In the beginning he is in a melancholic mood. He is walking lonely, but later, when he comes across the daffodils, it fills his heart with joy and happiness, and he comes to a cheerful and delightful mood.
12. Message of the poem : The message of the poem is how nature can be the most incredible resort when somebody is feeling lonely, troubled or in a pensive mood. Nature rejuvenates (gives a new energy) our soul.
13. This poem is presented in a first person point of view
14. Major Literary Devices used in the poem :
- Personification, example :The daffodils were fluttering and dancing/ the waves dancing
- Consonance, example: 'Stars that shine'
- Assonance, (Note : Assonance is a literary device that involves repeating vowel sounds in words, phrases or in sentences. It is also known as "vowel rhyme".)
"When all once I saw crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils, "
(In these lines words are dominated by /o/ sounds.)
- Alliteration, example: 'Stars that shine'/ 'Beside the lake, beneath the trees'
- Simile, example: 'I wandered lonely as a cloud'
- Hyperbole, example: 'Ten thousand at a glance'
- Repetition, example: 'gazed and gazed'
- Metaphor, example : The first line of the poem itself works as a nice example of metaphor. Here the speaker has metaphorically compared to a cloud, conveying a sense of solitude and introspection. Through this metaphor the poet has given the idea of detachment and isolation.
- Symbolism : The poet has used a very nice use of symbolism. The word 'Daffodil' itself is a nice example of symbolism. This flower is related with spring season, and spring is the positive symbol of joy, warmth and happiness. Through the use of this word the poet prepares us that after a melancholy mood of wandering his heart was filled with joy at the sight of the daffodils.
- Imagery : Mostly we find the use of visual imagery in this poem. Some examples of it are, 'golden daffodils', 'milky way', 'beside the lake, beneath the trees' etc.
- Besides, we find kinesthetic imagery in the line 'Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.'
- The same word 'fluttering' can also be an example of auditory imagery because as the flowers were fluttering (dancing), there must the sound of their fluttering too.
- Enjambment : [Enjambment is a poetic technique when a sentence or phrase continues from one line of poetry to the next. It is the continuation of a sentence or a phrase from one line of the poetry to the other. It lacks any punctuation at its line break.]
- A very good example of enjambment in this poem is the first and the second lines of the first and the second line :
That floats on high o'ver vales and hills"
- Sibilance : It is a type of literary device where a hissing sound is created in a group of words through the repetition of 's' sounds. The example of this figure of speech is in line 7 of this poem :"Continuous as the stars that shine".
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[Hand written manuscript of the poem]
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(All the images credit: Google Images)
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Very well explained. It will be very useful for the students, please keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written summary and explanation.
ReplyDeleteI know very little about poetry. You've done a great job Sudip. The little I know has been explained by you to understand the depths of a poem. It really is marvellous.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this feedback
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