The poet;

William Wordsworth is a great romantic poet. He was brought up in the

arms of the nature and wrote about those wonderful places when he grew up. He
was crowned as a poet laureate, the greatest honuor England gives to the poets.

1st stanza

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills.

When all at once I saw a crowed,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Paraphrase
The poet says while he was walking alone without any aim, like a cloud
Which flies high over valley and hills, he suddenly saw a large number of the
daffodils. They were beside the lake and under the trees. They were moving and
dancing in the gentle air.
Rhyme scheme; ( a b a b c c )

Figures of speech
1- simile ; " as a cloud "
The poet likens himself to a cloud.

2- Personification; " fluttering and dancing "

The poet gives the daffodils the image of people who move and dance.

Devices

Contrast ; ( lonely x crowd ) ( o'er x under ) ( vales x hills )

Alliteration ; ( high - hills ) ( beside - beneath ) to give music to

appeal our sense of hearing.

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2nd stanza

Continuous as the stars that shines

And twinkle in 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.
Paraphrase
The poet goes on in describing the daffodils as they were shining continuously
like stars in the universe. They were lying in a very long line which you cannot see its end a
long the edge of the gulf of the lake. He could see about ten thousand in one look. They were
raising up their heads in a beautiful dance.

Figures of speech

1- Simile : " as the stars "

The poet likens the daffodils to stars.
2- Personification: " Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance"
The poet gives the daffodils the image of people who raise up their Heads and dance.
3 rd
stanza
The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid 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:
Paraphrase
The poet saw the waves in the lake beside the daffodils dancing but the
daffodils were dancing more beautifully. The poet could not do anything except
feeling happy on seeing such a happy group. He looked very closely at this scene
which brought him great happiness.

Figures of speech
1- Personification ; " The waves beside them danced "
The poet gives the waves the image of people who can dance.
Devices

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 1- Alliteration ( what - wealth ) to give music to appeal our sense of hearing.

4th stanza
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 pleasures fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Paraphrase
The poet often lies on his sofa while he is busy or free minded, the daffodils
appear in his mind and they become happiness in his loneliness. His heart becomes
full of happiness and dances with the daffodils.
Figures of speech
1- Personification " And dances with the daffodils "
The poet gives his heart the image of a person who can dance.
Devices
1- Contrast (vacant x pensive )
2- Alliteration (dances – daffodils) to give music.
Commentary
As a romantic poet William Wordsworth shows his great love to the nature.
He describes it perfectly well. He shows his happiness when he sees the happy
nature. The poet uses simple but beautiful language with many figures of speech like;
simile and personification. The poet shows his great skill and rich vocabulary in
using many words to express happiness in the 3rd stanza (glee – gay – jocund –
wealth). The poet uses devices, contrast and alliteration, well. The rhyme scheme is
simple and regular.

Questions & answers

1- What is meant by “poet laureate “?
It is a title England gives to its great poets. It is the highest honour the poet can
have. In the Arab world Ahmed Shawki is the poet laureate of the Arabic poetry.
2- What is the Romanticism?
It is a new method in the world of art and literature. It appeared in the
eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. It depends on the love of nature, feeling
lonely, showing personal experience and clear ideas.
3- How is William Wordsworth's poem a good example for the romanticism?
" I wandered lonely as a cloud " is a good example of romantic poetry as it is
for the love of the nature, the poet describes a personal experience, the poet was
alone and the lines are beautiful and clear.

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 4- What is the main theme of the poem?
Man feels happy when he sees the happy nature.
5- What is the main comparison of the poem?
The poet compares between the daffodils and the waves in the lake. They both
danced beautifully but the daffodils were better.

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