Poem: I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
By William Wordsth

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.

Summary

The poem I wandered lonely as a cloud is a beautiful romantic poem written by William Wordsworth.

Once the speaker of the poem saw a huge number of daffodils while he was roaming(walking aimlessly) about without any different purpose. The daffodils appeared to him as a crowd of living beings. Like a group of joyous dancers. They had been dancing in the pleasant breeze. They are making sounds like the sounds made by the wings of the flying birds. The speaker who had been walking with an empty mind in a passive mode could not respond to the happy side. He was moved by the happiness of the daffodils. The daffodils touch the poet’s heart and made a permanent impression of happiness. Then he says a poet never feels bored seeing this beautiful happy scene. The poet called them pleasurable wealth.

In the last stage, the poet shows his definition of poetry,

“Poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings……. recollected in tranquillity “.

Here, the poet says when he feels bored and lies in his bed the beautiful scene of daffodils revives his inward mind and makes him happy. His heart fills with unbounded pleasure and he wants to dance with those golden daffodils.

Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines of a poem or verse. A rhyme scheme is used in poetry. It helps us to read a poem with rhythm. It is maybe common or uncommon. It establishes the poem. It is the combination of a number of stanzas. Every stanza has some lines.

The rhyme scheme is easily identified, usually by the accent or sound of the last word of each line of every poem. “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” rhyme scheme is given in the poem. The poem consists of 4 stanzas and 24 lines.

Now I am going to mention below rhyme scheme with an explanation.

• cloud = A
• hills = B
• crowd = A
• daffodils = B
• trees = C
• breeze = C

……………………………………………………..

After figuring out the rhyme scheme of the last syllable of each line of this poem, each six-line stanza is rhymed ABABCC. And All stanza lines follow the same pattern.

Tone

The tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength. The tone of the poem is joyous. The poet is happy to see the beautiful scenery of the daffodils. They are golden in color, they are dancing. And in the last stanza, the poet says when the beautiful scene is revived he feels happy. So the whole atmosphere makes a happy tone.

Structure

The poem consists of four stanzas. Each stanza consists of six verse lines rhyming ab ab cc. The couplet at the end of each stanza enhances spontaneity.

Theme

The theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme.
The main theme of the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is that of bliss or a certain state of natural happiness. Adjacent themes are Man’s relationship with nature. The effect memories have on people.

Authors Position

When an author writes to persuade, he/she will have his/her own position on the subject. The author’s position is an author’s opinion about the subject. It may be subjective or objective.

Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings, emotion, and own choice.

Objective means where the writer can’t use his/her own feelings, emotions, and own choice.

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a subjective poem because the poet adds his own imagination, feelings, likes, and dislikes. So it’s a subjective poem.

Figures of Speech

The poet uses several figures of speech to create the suitable atmosphere and mood required for establishing communication between the speaker and the daffodils.

In the first stanza, we find examples of simile, alliteration, and personification.

Simile:
In the first line, we find an example of “simile”.
” I wandered lonely as a cloud”.
“Continuous as the stars that shine”

Alliteration:
“Beside the lake, beneath the trees”.
“I gazed—-and—-gazed—-but little thought”
Here,” b” and “g” are repeated. So it’s an example of alliteration.

Personification:
Then we find an example of personification.
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”.
Here, the poet personifies the daffodils. He compares the dancing of daffodils with human dancing.

Hyperbole:
In the second stanza, we can find out hyperbole.
” Ten thousand saw I at a glance “

Here, the poet exaggerates the number of daffodils. Because one man can’t see ten thousand at a glance so he metaphorically says “Ten thousand saw me at a glance”. It’s an example of hyperbole.