Daffodils by William Wordsworth - Essay Example

One of the treasured poem in the history, “Daffodils” also known by the title “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was written in 1804 by William Wordsworth. The poem was published in 1815 in “Collected Poems” compromising of four stanzas. William Wordsworth known for his love for nature composed the poem in a very simple and remarkable manner. Clearly his love for nature was reflected through the choice of the objects he used in the poem. "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility" quoted by William Wordsworth represents his passion for poetry which is clearly illustrated in his poem, “Daffodils”. “Daffodils” takes one on the journey of the Romantic age, where one can find all the elements of love, passion, excitement, and praise for the blossoming fields occupied with waving daffodils. In Daffodils the poet narrates the story of his encounter with the God’s most beautiful creation, the daffodils. The first stanza describes the gloominess on the poets face when he is wandering pointlessly beside the lake surrounded by loneliness he notices a floating cloud in the sky, sweeping above the valleys and the hills. And then his eyes meet a large number of daffodils gathered by the side of the lake. Sheltered by a growing tree the daffodils were glowing and gleaming like gold. The constant push of the airy breeze was making them dance in joy and delight. The yellow sheet of daffodils made the entire atmosphere vibrant and full of life. The line: “A host, of golden daffodils” describes the richness to the color of the flower. Gold is highly treasured piece of metal, very rare on earth. The poet gives the same status to daffodils which beauty has captured the attention of the poet. According to the poet the aligned daffodils resemble the shining stars up in the night sky in the form of Milky Way, enlightening the entire space with their glow and imperfection. The use of night sky to describe the imperfection of daffodils can be explained by the example of darkness in a closed room; darkness is associated with loneliness and despair, but as the moonlight enters the room it suddenly lights up and the feeling of isolation is gone. As the poet glance at the dancing daffodils he also lights up from within and is unable to escape the feeling of joy. The power of daffodils accentuates the entire atmosphere and the waves of the lake also start to dance with them. But the dance of the waves is in no way comparable to the exhilarating dance of the daffodils. The poet gazed at the swaying daffodils in amazement and awe. He could not do anything but give in to the natural beauty of this treasure, and let his heart absorb the energy radiated by the lustrous daffodils. And within seconds the feeling of gloominess was gone and the poet went into a deep trance of love. The image of daffodils is engraved in the heart and mind of the poet. Later, when the poet felt loneliness and darkness growing up on him, his mind suddenly reminds him of his beautiful moments at that scenery and with a snap of finger all his worries and sorrows fade away. The poet could never escape from the thought of that entire rejuvenating panorama. In the last stanza, the lines, “They flash upon that inward eye; which is the bliss of solitude; and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils” describe the after effects of the ecstatic meeting and the complications that the glorious daffodils left on the poet’s life. The beginning line of the poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, notifies the audience of the phase of loneliness the poet is going through. The reason why the poet is lonely is the death of his brother, John, which is followed by a flow of emotions in the heart and mind of the William Wordsworth. At many places the poem has been addressed as an imagination but the selection of words and tone in the poem is nowhere near being an imagination. The poet has captured the beauty of the entire scenery in the words so believable that nobody could accept that it is a mere imagination of the poet. In the starting line the poet describes himself as a ‘cloud’ floating over the hills. Comparing himself with the cloud the poet brings forth the idea of seclusion. The idea of being secluded is contradicted by another word in the same stanza, ‘crowd’, which reveals the ‘setting of the poem’ to the readers. Apparently, William Wordsworth is alone in a quite valley of lakes, and hills but the presence of the crowd of daffodils confounds his senses. The poet forgets he is alone and get lost into the crowd of daffodils. The line signifies the discomfort felt by the poet in the human world but not in the mid of the blossoming fields of daffodils. The poem is dominated by nature. Phrases used like a crowd, a host, continuous as the stars, they stretched in never-ending lines, ten thousands saw eye at a glance give a depth to the poem. Daffodils a very common flower has been portrayed as a magical glory and a sight that brings in the feeling of content. The simplicity and ordinariness of daffodils is the main highlight in the entire poem. Just like daffodils there are thousands of things in this world that may appear ordinary to a normal human being, but upon observing them closely one would be amazed at how small and ordinary things can bring contentment in their lives. A gradual transition is seen in the structure of the poem: from wandered lonely (line 1) to but be gay (line 15) and pleasures fill (line 23). This actually conveys the life of the poet to the readers. Surrounded by grievances and loneliness caused by the death of his brother, John, the poet seeks the beauty of the nature to bring him back to the normal state. The healthy relationship between him and his sister, Dorothy, and his second marriage in the same year 1802 mark the happiest events of his life and thus correlate with Daffodils. The analysis will be incomplete without discussing the tone of the poem. The poem has the essence of Wordswothian, known as a figure of Romanticism William Wordsworth use all the elements to define his love for daffodils. The nature has been portrayed at its best and the poet remarkably captures the essence of it till the very verge which not many can do. It brings the extraordinary life of Wordsworth into the limelight, exploring and understanding the interesting facets of his life. The collection of scattered emotions in the entire poem draws a wide line between the finesse of Wordsworth and the other poets. The influence of emotions is not short lived but rather permanent and everlasting. Even the mind of the poet is not able to give away the spectacular vision of the entire panorama. There is a rhyming scheme throughout the poem: from clouds to a crowd, trees to breeze, shine to never-ending line, glance to dance, and pleasure fills to daffodils, the poem consists of the rhyming scheme from ABAB to CC. The entire poem makes use of ‘Enjambment’ which transforms the poem into a consistent flow of literary expressions without any breaks or pauses. The poem captures the awe-striking images of naturely figures like, lakes, fields, trees, stars, bay in Ullswater. The poet persistently admires the beauty of golden flowers, the daffodils, comparing them to all the good things in the universe. The much elating dance of the daffodils has caught the glimpse of the poet who is tied to their mesmerizing beauty and in the concluding stanza hopes to join them. Every line of the poem has been described with perfection. This is why it becomes easy for the readers to see through the poet’s eyes the beauty inexplicable. The poet is so involved in the scenery that he himself cannot resist the temptation of dancing with the daffodils. The language is simple yet melodious. The idea of daffodils is a great gift from William Wordsworth to anybody facing the consequences of life. “Daffodils” is one of the best poems of William Wordsworth. It spreads a web of emotions and sentiments, underlying which is a simple yet melodious work of a romanticist. Surprisingly the poet gathers all the elements of nature in one poem and presents it in the most comprehensive manner. In four simple stanzas the poet has shown the art of imagery, which nobody could possibly have done. ‘Daffodils’ also known as ‘I wandered Lonely as a Child’ if summed up in three words is an entire literary philosophy. This unique piece of literature will never go old and will always be admired for its remarkable style and imagery. Works Cited Vaishali Satwase. (September 22, 2011). Analysis of Daffodils by William Wordsworth. Retrieved from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/analysis-of-daffodils-by-william-wordsworth.htmlm (2013). Summary and Analysis of Daffodils by William Wordsworth. Retrieved from: http://beamingnotes.com/2013/05/21/summary-and-analysis-of-daffodils-by-william-wordsworth/ William Wordsworth. (1807). ‘Daffodils’ Joplin, David. "Wordsworth's 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.'" The Explicator 56.2 (1998): 67-70. Stillinger, Jack, ed. Selected Poems and Prefaces by William Wordsworth. Boston: Houghton, 1965. Read More