Comparison of the Imagery between The Tyger and Daffodils - Essay Example

Compare the imagery between “The Tyger” and “Daffodils” The two poets, William Wordsworth and William Blake use the style of Imagery largely. They have achieved their goal of bringing vividness to the reader .They bring about the intended image of the work instead of telling them. In lines 1-2, the speaker of the poem describes how he moved about and suffered loneliness as a cloud. He does not mention the use of the phrase “walked around.” The use of the word “wandered” is much more descriptive. Literally, the word “wandered” means roaming around without a purpose. In essence, it is not necessarily an evil or bad thing. In its metaphorical use, the word “wandered” could mean feeling of purposelessness without any projected direction. The speaker is relating his own loneliness to the clouds. May be, it is because his thoughts are just too lofty. He could be feeling separated from the rest of the world (Borthwick 114). In the third and the fourth lines, the speaker says that he suddenly (“all at once”) saw a group of daffodil flowers. The readers’ thoughts are inclined to the feeling that daffodils are “yellow”, but he uses a sounding that is more magnificent-sounding; the word “golden”. He refers to them as a “crowd”, meaning they must be packed close to each other. He also goes ahead in elaborating the “crowd” by adding a noun “host”. The readers know that hosts are associated with angels. Human beings often refer to a host of angels and this goes together with the description of their adorable “golden” color and this develops the feeling that we are dealing with some very special daffodils (Denman 119). In the fifth and sixth lines, the speaker observes the beautiful daffodil flowers beside a lake and below some trees. He further explains that the day is breezy and the flowers “flutter” and “dance” in a fairly isolated and uncultivated part of the country. The words “fluttering” suggest an air travel, which takes us back to the thought of angels and birds or even butterflies. Human being can only do ”Dancing”. The daffodils are given the human qualities or some kind of otherworldly creatures (Denman 120). The seventh and the eighth lines in the second stanza are also characterized by imagery. Both similes and metaphors are used. The speaker stresses the point that there are so many daffodils, probably more than he has ever come across. We can therefore say that the yellow flowers extend incessantly without a break like the stars on the Milky Way galaxy. Each flower gleam like a star. The speaker gives more evidence that he is trying to make us think of seraphs and other heavenly beings. In the ninth and the tenth lines, the daffodil flowers are nearly concentrated in a line that seems to draw out far and continuously, like the Milky Way galaxy. The speaker says they are (“never unending” ) They seem to line the show (“margin”) of a bay at the lake, which must be indeed far too large. Thinking of the real appearance of the galaxy, whereby the stars form a blurry approximation of a stripe we imagine the flowers are outside the shores of the lake but most of them are concentrated on the shores. The speaker in the eleventh and the twelfth lines mentions “ten thousand” dancing flowers simultaneously. That symbolizes many daffodils. The number is simply a mere guesswork. The flowers also “toss their hands” while dancing to the winds. The use of the words “heads” makes the reader think of the part of the flowers with petals. The weight makes the flowers to bob. The words “sprightly” means happily or merrily. It derives from the word “sprite” which refers to the playful little spirit that people at one point thought colonized nature. “Sprites” are thought to have been wonderful beings (Denman 121). In the lines 13-14, the speaker says that the waves dance in the breeze, but the daffodils outdo them. This means that the entire seen has suddenly been invested by joyful human-like presence. However, since the joy brought in by the waves is less compared to that brought in by the yellow flowers, the daffodils outdid the water with their happiness. Just like the stars, the speaker says the waves “sparkle” which creates yet another relationship with the heavenly stars. Everything seems to be shining and flashing. The speaker can also be seen re-entering the poem. This is in the lines 15-16. He refers himself as the poet. He can now feel happy, or “gay” despite the fact that he had earlier been angry. He feels that he has joyful and carefree (“juncad”) “company” to hung out. The flowers feel like companions to him. They like his pals. The repetition of the word “gazed” emphasizes the fact that he kept looking at the flower for quite a long time. He seems to be really enjoying the daffodils for quite a long time. The use of the word “wealth” means a more lasting type of happiness. It carries with it, which really does not match with the paranormal language that has come before (Borthwick 114). The speaker explains further why he valued the daffodils as a great gift. We can see that he moves ”all at once”, flashes into the future and then back from both the lake and the windy day. He often seats on his couch, feeling blue about his life, with no great thoughts and sight. At other times, his mind is empty and “vacant” as described in line 20. At other times, he feels “pensive”. The prior means “not thinking” and the latter means” thinking while feeling blue”. He groups the two experiences together, because they are unpleasant and not satisfying. The mentioned “inward eye” expresses what William Wordsworth felt to be a more profound and more correct sacred vision. The spiritual vision is a form of solitude but beauty makes it blissful (Eberwein, 96). William Blake also uses a lot of imagery in his poem “The Tyger”. For example, he uses fire to call to mind the fierceness and possible danger of the tiger. The fire itself represents what is evil and dreaded. ”Tyger Tyger, burning bright/ In the forest of the night.”He also continues using the imagery when he says “What the hand, dare seize the fire?” More so, the speaker questions in what furnace thy brain was. We find that the image of a hand brings forth consequent imagery of a maker (Blake, 72). The imagery of immortal being is also used. It is used to question the kind of being that could make anything as ferocious as the tiger. The speaker wonders the kind of immortal hand or eye that could frame its fearful symmetry and on what wings he could dare aspire. He creates an reflection of an otherworldly mystical being. The speaker goes ahead to wonder the kind of shoulder and art that could twist the sinews of its heart. He questions the kind of dread hand and the kind of dread feet, and the kind of dread grasp would dare hold onto its deadly terrors. These strong words portray a being with immense strength, and one that would harbor evil intentions. The speaker uses imagery in this case to ask whether malice or goodness lies beneath the making of the frightening tiger (Blake, 74). The speaker uses the imagery of Christianity to question whether a God of beneficiary would create the tiger and other probable terrors in the universe. He questions when the stars threw their spears down and their tears watered the heavens, whether he smiled to see his work and whether the maker of the lamb also made the tiger. This use of imagery show the sphere in which Christianity began. The universe comes to life, and God creates the lamb to symbolize Christian sacrifice. The speaker also use image of nature. He mentions both the forest and also the sky. He says that the tiger burns bright in the forest of the night. This triggers the impression of glowing eyes that cut through the night, a moment when fear emanates from the darkness. The speaker also employs imagery that brings to mind the heavens, when he writes of the tigers’s probable creation. He asks whether the creator smiled his work to see when the stars threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears. The fifth and the sixth line of the poem “The Tyger has imagery. The metaphor of burning from the first line returns with the burning “fire” of the tigers eyes. This adds to the power of the image. Scrutiny of lines 7-8 shows the element imagery. The “hand” returns from the third line as well as that of the “fire,” and the image of flying on wings is added. This alludes to the supernatural power, but not essentially the divine one (Blake 72). Reading closely to the ninth line, “What shoulder” symbolically means what bodily strength could create the tiger ("twist the sinews of thy heart"). The lines 13-16 questions how the Tyger was created. Blake uses the metaphor of a blacksmith who in his course of duty forms metal with a hammer, a furnace, and probably an anvil. This give the reader a clear understanding of what is happening and more over, it helps the reader visualize the situation perfectly well. The imagery of Christianity is also vivid in the lines 17-20. Lines 17-18 could be referring to the angels after satan rebelled against God. In addition, in the Christian religion, the lamb is a Christian symbol for “Jesus Christ”. The speaker also uses the imagery of body parts. These include the hands, the eyes, and the feet. This is synecdoche since a part of the body is used to represent the whole of it. A good example is when someone yells” All hands on deck!”. By this he means he wants the people to assist with the ship. Therefore we can say that the “immortal hand” refers to the whole person who possesses the hand. The eye too represents the whole body in the dimension of sight (Eberwein 94). Wings are also used as imagery. In line 7, wings are used by the creator to “aspire”. In other words, they are the power of inspiration that allows the creator to have the audacity of creating the tiger. Overall, “Daffodils” is a contemplative poem that appreciates the nature. It also appreciates the wonder of nature and appreciates the happiness it brings. The same case applies to William Blake’s “The Tyger”. Imagery is dominant in the two poems making the two poems interesting and clear to understand (Blake 73). Work Cited Blakes, William, and Neil Waldman. The tyger. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1993. Print. Borthwick E. K.“Fire Imagery in two poems in the anthology.” Classical Philology, 64(2) (1969): 114. Print. Eberwein, Jane Donahue. “The Music of Emily Dickinson poems and Letters: A study of Imagery and Forms (Review).” The Emily Dickinson Journal 12.2 (2003): 93-96. Print. Denman, Jason. “On the Imagery of Robert Herrick’s TO DAFFODILS.” The Explicator 70.2 (2002): 119-122. Print. Read More