Whether you call Wordsworth’s poem “Daffodils” or “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” you’ll find this poem analysis helpful. And if you’re looking to teach or write a poetry analysis, check out this lesson.
The Foundation of William Wordsworth’s Poems
Of all the famous poems of Wordsworth, none is more famous than “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”. To fully understand the poem and any William Wordsworth poetry analysis, a brief look at the tenets of British Romanticism is in order. British Romantics emphasized the following.
- The Beauty of the Supernatural – a William Wordsworth poetry analysis will invariably identify a connection between nature and the supernatural. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is no exception.
- The Importance of Nature – The obvious theme of the poem is the beauty of nature and its ability to allow one to connect with God.
- Championing the Individual – The narrator’s experience in the meadow is personal and individual.
- The Dangers of Technology – There is no overt reference to technology. Romantics, however feared that man’s ability to connect with nature was being compromised by technological advances.
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
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.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.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: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.
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.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.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: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.
“Daffodils” Analysis
Before continuing, print the poem. An analysis of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” produces the following observations.
- Rhyme Scheme – ababcc – the rhyming couplet at the end of each stanza produces a natural break to go along with the natural break caused by a new stanza. The last line of each stanza, therefore, carries added emphasis. The last line mentions “the show” and produces images of dancing daffodils, a lasting impression of an impression Wordsworth discusses.
- Meter and Rhythm – iambic tetrameter. The meter creates a song like rhythm, a rhythm to which daffodils might dance. Wordsworth also uses alliteration and consonance to create rhythm.
- Line 1 contains a simile comparing the narrator to a cloud, making him at one with nature. The comparison to the cloud suggests free floating and drowsiness. The narrator is relaxed. A “host of golden daffodils” attracts his attention.
- Line 7 uses a simile to compare the procession of daffodils to the eternity of the stars in the milky way, creating a link between Nature and the Universe which links the narrator to the Universe.
- Line 9 uses hyperbole to express the vastness of the vision, an eternal vastness perhaps: “They stretched in never-ending line.”
- Line 12 uses personification. The daffodils have become a living entity.
- Line 13 uses personification and comparison. The waves danced too, but they do not produce the glee the daffodils have created.
- In stanza 3 the narrator admits that at the time of the incident, he had no idea of the impact.
- Stanza 4 relates that the subconscious and the soul receive the greater impact from the experience as the daffodils “flash upon that inward eye.”
- Theme: In order to understand oneself and one’s place in the universe, one must connect with nature.