Summary

The speaker, likely William Wordsworth(Bio | Poems) himself, is wandering down the hills and valley when he stumbled
upon a beautiful field of daffodils. The speaker is transfixed by the daffodils seemingly waving, fluttering, and dancing
along the waterside. Albeit, the lake’s waves moved as fervently, but the beauty of daffodils outdid with flying colors. The
poet feels immensely gleeful and chirpy at this mesmerizing natural sight. Amongst the company of flowers, he remains
transfixed at those daffodils wavering with full vigor. Oblivious to the poet is the fact that this wondrous scenery of
daffodils brings the poet immense blithe and joy when he’s in a tense mood or perplexed for that matter. His heart
breaths a new life and gives him exponential happiness at sight worth a thousand words.

Meaning

Though the poem’s title hints at a cloud, it is not about it. Instead, it is about a group of golden daffodils dancing beside
the lake and beneath the trees. Wordsworth’s poetic persona, at some point, visited that spot, and he is describing how
he felt having the sight of those beautiful flowers. The poet metaphorically compares him to a cloud for describing his
thoughtless mental state on that day. Like a cloud, he was wandering in the valley aimlessly. The sudden spark that the
daffodils gave to his creative spirit is expressed in this poem.

Structure and Form

The poem is composed of four stanzas of six lines each. It is an adherent to the quatrain-couplet rhyme scheme, A-B-A-B-
C-C. Every line conforms to iambic tetrameter. The poem ‘Daffodils’ works within the a-b-a-b-c-c rhyme scheme as it uses
consistent rhyming to invoke nature at each stanza’s end. Moreover, it helps in creating imagery skillfully as the poet
originally intended. The poem flows akin to a planned song in a rhythmic structure. Consonance and alliteration are used
to create rhymes. This poem is written from the first-person point of view. Therefore it is an ideal example of a lyric
poem. The poetic persona is none other than Wordsworth himself. This piece contains a regular meter. There are eight
syllables per line, and the stress falls on the second syllable of each foot. There are four iambs in each line. Thus the
poem is in iambic tetrameter.

Figurative Language and poetic devices

Wordsworth makes use of several literary devices in ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.’ These include but are not limited to
similes, hyperboles, personification, and allusion. Similes are also used since the poet alludes to an aimless cloud as he
takes a casual stroll. Moreover, daffodils are compared to star clusters in Milky Way to explicate the magnitude of
daffodils fluttering freely beside the lake. At times, hyperbole is used to explicate the immensity of the situation. The
allusion of daffodils to stars spread across the Milky Way is one such instance. Furthermore, the daffodils are even made
anthropomorphous to create a human portrayal of Mother Nature in this instance. Moreover, the poet has also used
reverse personifications, equating humans to clouds and daffodils to humans with constant movement. Using this clever
tactic, the poet brings people closer to nature, becoming a hallmark of William Wordsworth’s most basic yet effective
methods for relating readers with nature, appreciating its pristine glory. Daffodils celebrate the beauty of nature and its
purity, along with the bliss of solitude. He deems his solitude as an asset and inspires him to live a meaningful life.
Wordsworth makes use of imagery figuratively to display his feelings and emotions after encountering the daffodils.
Firstly, the image of the cloud describes the poet’s mental state, and the images that appear after that vividly portray the
flowers. These images, in most cases, are visual, and some have auditory effects (For example, “Fluttering and dancing in
the breeze.”) associated with them.
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In the first stanza of ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ Wordsworth explains his one-day occasional aimless wandering. The
term “wandered” means walking free of their own accord. The poet is referring to himself as the “cloud” in a
metaphorical sense of the word. Although the clouds mostly travel in groups, this cloud prefers singular hovering.
However, he clearly mentions his passing through valleys and hills on a routine walk, simplifying the narrative.

The poet comes across a bunch of daffodils fluttering in the air. He’s dumbfounded by the beauty of those “golden
daffodils.” Although yellow would be more suitable for daffodils, the poet intends to signify its beauty by using golden
color. The daffodils are termed as “host” or crowd since they are together in a collective bunch. They are a source of
immense beauty for the poet hailing from the Romantic Era.

Those daffodils are firmly perched beside a lake, beneath some trees. It’s a windy day overall, and the flowers dance and
flutter as the wind blows. Let’s take a step back for a brief moment to locate the premises of the poet’s inspiration. The
poet resided in the famous Lake District, a region rich in scenic locations entailing hills, valleys, and lakes. As a result, the
location is realistic in its entirety. Wordsworth refers to daffodils dancing, a trait relatable to humans.

The above allegory is a clear and direct referral to our native galaxy Milky Way. The space continuum holds great mystery
for our Romantic Era poet as he envisions the daffodils to be in a constant state of wonder, as are the stars beyond the
reach of humans.

The poet makes an allusion to the Milky Way, our galaxy filled with its own planetary solar systems stretched beyond
infinity. The lake supposedly has a large area since the daffodils are dispersed along the shoreline. Along the Milky Way’s
premises lie countless stars, which the poet alludes to daffodils fluttering beside the lake.

By “ten thousand,” he meant a collection of daffodils were fluttering in the air, spellbinding the poet at the beauty of the
scene. It’s just a wild estimation at best as he supposes ten thousand daffodils at a glance. The term “sprightly” comes
from sprite, which is primarily dandy little spirits people deemed existed in such times. They are akin to fairies.

The speaker liked the “sprightly dance” of the daffodils so much that he, in the third stanza, says that the sparkling waves
of a lake beside cannot match their beauty. The waves are sparkling due to the sunlight. This image is contrasted with the
dance of daffodils. Besides, the speaker imagines the tossing of their heads to a wave. So, the contrast presents the
resemblance of the lake’s water to the daffodils.

Witnessing the scene, the romantic poet became so gay that he was not able to move from the location. The flowers
were a “jocund company” to him that he could not find in humans. “Jocund” means cheerful and light-hearted. Their
silent presence told more than the words of humans could convey to him. They had a purity that made the poet
spellbound.

The repetition of the word “gazed” in the next line points at the poet’s state of mind at that moment. His eyes were
transfixed at the golden beauty of the daffodils. That’s why he kept on gazing until he could drink their serenity to the
lees. The second half of the line quickly catches readers’ attention. Wordsworth is now asking them what wealth the
flowers had brought him on that day. Thus, he quickly comes into reality from his imagination to inform readers about his
viewpoint.
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The last stanza describes the inspiration behind writing ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.’ According to Wordsworth,
whenever he lies on his couch in a vacant or thoughtful mood, the image flashes in his mind’s eyes. It is a simultaneous
process, not a forced one. Blissful memories are so gripping that they stick with a person throughout their life. So,
whenever the poet’s mind becomes empty of thoughts, the image supplies him the source of energy to re-think. Not
only that, when he feels down, the scene acts similarly.

The “inward eye” is a reference to the mind’s eyes. When one shuts his physical eyes, it unleashes those eyes.
Wordsworth compares the daffodils to the “bliss” of his solitary moments. He provides the reason why he says so.
According to him, the memory associated with the daffodils fills his heart with pleasure, making his heart leap up once
again like a child. In this way, the poet highlights the role of nature, especially daffodils, in his life.

Themes

Throughout ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ Wordsworth engages with themes of nature, memory, and spirituality. These
three are tied together as the speaker, Wordsworth himself, moves through a beautiful landscape. He takes pleasure in
the sight of the daffodils and revives his spirit in nature. At the same time, Wordsworth explores the theme of memory,
as he does in other works such as ‘Tintern Abbey.’ The flowers are there to comfort him in real-time and as a memory
from the past.

The poem begins with a symbolic reference to the cloud. It is wandering and lonely. The poetic persona is the
embodiment of such a cloud. Hence, it symbolizes being lonely and thoughtless. This state is achieved when one is free
from mundane thoughts.

The most important symbol of this piece is the daffodils. The narcissistic description of the flower seems to be alluding to
the Greek myth. Apart from that, the daffodil acts as a symbol of rejuvenation and pure joy. Wordsworth becomes the
means through which the flowers express their vibrance. In his pensive mood, they become a means for the poet’s self-
reflection.