“Daffodils” or “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a typical poem characterizing the Romantics and was written by William Wordsworth on a stormy spring day while with his sister, Dorothy. This poem has 6 lines in 4 stanzas and has a constant rhyming scheme of ABABCC throughout the poem. The basic theme of the text is the stimulation of individual passion by nature which we usually ignore because of our challenging lives. The title itself reminds us of the beautiful months of spring where daffodils symbolize happiness and joy. Wordsworth has used imagery in the form of stars, fields, lakes, and trees and uses descriptive language all through the poem. The words are simple yet melodious and the last stanza has a rhyming couplet. While through the first three stanzas of this poem Wordsworth has tried to unify the subject matter of the poem based on his experiences, the last stanza focuses on his memories. The poem’s lines are in iambic tetrameter as demonstrated by,
“The waves | be – side | them danced; | but they
Out – did | the spark- | ling waves | in glee:”
The first line of the poems uses a simile and personification since the poet imagines himself as a cloud wandering in the skies. This line also uses alliteration since the “l” is repeated,
“I wandered lonely as a cloud”
Wordsworth further admires the daffodils and even compares them to the stars of our Milky Way reflecting nature’s consistency and beauty through the use of another simile,
“Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,”
The poet not only compares the daffodils to himself but also to humans dancing in the breeze giving the flowers human qualities,
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
Since the subject of the poem is the daffodils, nature is apparent throughout the poem, thus establishing a very tranquil, peaceful, and joyous environment. When Wordsworth uses the imagery of a cloud to describe himself, he symbolizes the integration of the natural world with himself.
