Fatema Sardar

Analysing Poetry
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as 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 a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Then thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
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.
2
Meaning
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as lonely as a cloud
COUPLET 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 a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Then thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
A The waves beside them danced; but they
B Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A A poet could not but be gay,
B In such a jocund company:
C I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
C 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.
4
stanzas
3
Meaning
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
simile
Speaker compares himself to
a cloud, this shows that there
is a slight sad melancholy
tone in the beginning. The
speaker seems like a lone
observer who’s just floating
around watching the world
passively.simile is when the speaker
Another
compared the daffodils to the stars that
shine & twinkle in the milky way, this is
vivid imagery that shows the imagination
of the speaker. Also indicates that nature
seems to posses a perfect pristine pattern.
He’s comparing the constellation of the
stars to the perfect pattern of daffodils.
I wandered as 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 a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Then thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
A The waves beside them danced; but they
B Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A A poet could not but be gay,
B In such a jocund company:
C I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
C 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.
4
Meaning

The speaker states that he
sees 10,000 daffodils in a
never-ending line, this
isn’t actually true, it
contributes to the overall
effect that ‘this is a wide
expanse of daffodils.’
hyperbole
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as 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 a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Then thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
personification
A The waves beside them danced; but they
B Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A A poet could not but be gay,
B In such a jocund company:
C I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
C 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.
4
stanzas
5
Meaning

The daffodils dancing
and fluttering gives them
a seemingly jovial and
excited persona.
They’re also tossing their
heads in a sprightly dance
while the waves are
dancing besides them, also
reflecting the happiness of
the daffodils
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as 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 a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Then thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
A The waves beside them danced; but they
B Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A A poet could not but be gay,
B In such a jocund company:
C I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
C showing that man and
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.
Meaning
personification
When the speaker gives
human traits to inanimate
objects, this is very
significant because its
nature aren’t as far apart as
they seem.
In the end the speakers heart dances
with the daffodils, that shows us that
the speaker’s own emotions reflect
the beauty and the buoyancy of the
scene around him
4
stanzas
6
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as lonely as a cloud
Tone That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
Awe, Fanciful, When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Joyful Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
The writer is in awe of Continuous as the stars that shine
the daffodils as they
seem to lift his spirits,
And twinkle on the milky way,
he’s really fascinated by They stretched in a never-ending line
the beauty of the scene.
Along the margin of a bay:
He’s also very fanciful, Then thousand saw I at a glance
or imaginative. Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
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.
7
Meaning
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
William Wordsworth (1807)

I wandered as lonely as a cloud The waves beside them danced; but they We can also see that
the speaker transforms
Tone That floats on high o’er vales and hills, Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: throughout the poem,

Awe, Fanciful, When all at once I saw a crowd, A poet could not but be gay, in the beginning he
uses the word lonely.
A host, of golden daffodils; In such a jocund company:
Joyful Beside the lake, beneath the trees, I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
Which has a negative
connotation. The
speaker is lonely/sad
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. What wealth the show to me had brought: because no one is
around in the
beginning of the
The writer is in awe of Continuous as the stars that shine For oft, when on my couch I lie poem, but by the end
the daffodils as they
seem to lift his spirits,
And twinkle on the milky way, In vacant or in pensive mood, he feels the bliss of
he’s really fascinated by They stretched in a never-ending line solitude. This is a
the beauty of the scene.
They flash upon that inward eye transformation that
Along the margin of a bay: Which is the bliss of solitude; shows that now, the
He’s also very fanciful, Then thousand saw I at a glance And then my heart with pleasure fills,
speaker is happy that
or imaginative. he’s alone and can
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And dances with the daffodils. take in this moment to
sit back and enjoy this
experience.

8
Meaning
 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
I wandered as lonely as a cloud
Diction (word That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
choice) When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Picturesque, Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
simple diction Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
The speaker uses short Continuous as the stars that shine
easy to understand And twinkle on the milky way,
words, such as twinkle,
sparkling, solitude and They stretched in a never-ending line
pleasure to show the Along the margin of a bay:
simple pleasures that he
experiences when Then thousand saw I at a glance
witnessing this scene Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
William Wordsworth (1807)
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.
9
Meaning
 meaning

Wordsworth elaborates on the

connection between man + nature,
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.

10
Meaning
 meaning

Wordsworth elaborates on the

connection between man + nature,
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.

Also this is an indelible memory/

unforgettable memory for the
speaker. He feels a spiritual
connection to the natural world

11
Meaning
 meaning

Wordsworth elaborates on the

connection between man + nature,
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.

Also this is an indelible memory/

unforgettable memory for the
speaker. He feels a spiritual
connection to the natural world

12
Meaning
 meaning
The speaker is also really
Wordsworth elaborates on the imaginative, he can see the scene in
connection between man + nature, full color in his inward eye/mind.
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.

Also this is an indelible memory/

unforgettable memory for the
speaker. He feels a spiritual
connection to the natural world

13
Meaning
 meaning
Wordsworth elaborates on the
connection between man + nature,
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.
Also this is an indelible memory/
unforgettable memory for the
speaker. He feels a spiritual
connection to the natural world
Meaning
The speaker is also really
imaginative, he can see the scene in
full color in his inward eye/mind.
Lastly, the speaker gains a new
understanding. He talks about the
wealth that this show of daffodils
has brought him (not literal wealth,
but the new wealth of knowledge)
he understands he can gain simple
pleasure from something as small
as a simple flower
14
 meaning
Wordsworth elaborates on the
connection between man + nature,
showing that the speaker is overcome
with a feeling of joy whenever he sees
the daffodils this suggests that the
natural world is able to evoke strong
emotions such as awe, which is a
universal human experience.
Also this is an indelible memory/
unforgettable memory for the
speaker. He feels a spiritual
connection to the natural world
Meaning
The speaker is also really
imaginative, he can see the scene in
full color in his inward eye/mind.
Lastly, the speaker gains a new
understanding. He talks about the
wealth that this show of daffodils
has brought him (not literal wealth,
but the new wealth of knowledge)
he understands he can gain simple
pleasure from something as small
as a simple flower
15
Thank you