Daffodils (I wandered lonely as a Cloud) - Questions & Answers

Answer:

In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the poet has compared the daffodils —

• with the stars in the second stanza
• and with the waves in the lake in the third stanza.

The speaker says that the daffodils were shining, twinkling and were stretched in a never-ending line just like the stars on the Milky way. In the next stanza, he compares the happiness of the flowers with the waves beside them. The daffodils out-did the waves in their happy dance.

Answer: The above-quoted lines are taken from William Wordsworth’s poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” or “The Daffodils”, as it is popularly known.

Here the poet describes the beautiful scene which he had seen while traveling in the Lake District of England. The daffodils flowers were fluttering and dancing in the breeze beside a lake and underneath the trees.

Now, these lines are especially important in explaining how beautiful the nature was there. It was almost a heavenly sight with all the elements present there at once — the lake, the trees, the flowers and the mild breeze. Moreover, the “fluttering and dancing” of the daffodils convey that the poet was very much charmed at the sight of those flowers, ending up describing those as if they were human beings.

Answer:

The ‘wealth‘ referred to here is the company the daffodils give to the poet and the pleasure it brings to his mind when he is in vacant or in pensive mood.

When Wordsworth saw the flowers in the valley, he hardly realised its worth. He then did not know that the sight of those daffodils would leave so much impression upon his mind.

I gazed and gazed but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

But later, he has discovered that when he lies on his couch in lonely and thoughtful state, those flowers flash in his mind’s eye and fill his heart with joy. Thus the poet has come to know the worth of the flowers.

Answer: This is a fine instance of Hyperbole. A hyperbole is an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.

When the poet says that he saw ten thousand daffodils at a glance, he certainly means a lot of flower, a host of daffodils, and not ‘ten thousand’ literally. He didn’t actually count it.

Answer:

The ‘bliss of solitude’ means the blessings of loneliness. The poet William Wordsworth says that when he is alone in vacant and in pensive mood, i.e., when he is not doing anything particular, the daffodils which he had seen in the valley flash upon his inward eye and fill his heart with pleasure.

They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

This is something the poet can enjoy only because of his loneliness. If he would have been living in the middle of many people, he could never realise the worth of the flowers.

Again, something seen in the ‘inward eye’ means a visual imagination, something spiritual that cannot always be shared with other people. That is why it is ‘solitude’. And as a spiritual vision that brings a feeling of joy, it is a blessing for the poet. That is why he terms the ‘inward eye’ a ‘bliss of solitude’.

Answer: The poet William Wordsworth came across the daffodils when he was walking with his sister Dorothy around Glencoyne Bay, Ullswater, in the Lake District on 15 April, 1802. And both were charmed by the beauty of the flowers along the bay. Dorothy wrote in his journal entry for the day: “I never saw daffodils so beautiful…” And our poet went on to compose “I wandered lonely as a cloud” in 1804 drawing inspiration from Dorothy’s journal entry.

Answer: The daffodils had an everlasting impact on the poet, William Wordsworth. Whenever he felt ‘dejected or depressed’, he would remember the field of daffodils and have tender thoughts for them. This brought him out of his depressed state. Whenever he would be bored or in a thoughtful mood, he would remember the daffodils which brought a smile to his face and love in his heart.

Answer: William Wordsworth, the most prominent poet of the Romantic age, is known as a nature-lover and a nature-poet. The poem “Daffodils” is one of the finest examples of the expression of the poet’s love of nature. From the very first line of the poem to the finishing end, he shows this love.

In the first stanza of “Daffodils” Wordsworth compares himself to a cloud that floats high over valleys and hills. Then he goes on to describe how he came across a host of golden daffodils which were ‘fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. He personifies the daffodils as if they were happy and dancing just like a human being would do, compares the flowers to the shining stars on the Milky Way, and compares their happiness with that of the waves in the lake beside them. Finally, the poet reflects on what joy the memory of those flowers bring to his mind when he is in a vacant or pensive mood.

The poet acclaims, “A poet could not but be gay, / In such a jocund company:” He also uses “I gazed and gazed” to express how charmed he had been by the daffodils. And the final lines ” And then my heart with pleasure fills,/ And dances with the daffodils” says it all. Moreover, flowers, lake, trees, valleys, hills, cloud, stars — mention of all these natural objects is not a mere coincidence. This is a deliberate attempt from the poet to write of all the things that bring him joy, that make him happy. That essentially suggests only one thing — the poet is a lover of nature.

Answer:

Presentation of Nature’s beauty:
In the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud” or “Daffodils”, William Wordsworth has presented the beauty of nature at its best. The poem begins with the speaker comparing himself to a cloud that floats high over valleys and hills. Then he goes on to describe the beautiful scene he came across while wandering about the hilly regions of the Lake district in England.
 
The poet saw a host of golden daffodil flowers along the margin of a bay. It was so charming a scene that the flowers seemed to be fluttering and dancing in happiness in the breeze. The flowers were stretched in a never-ending line just like the stars in a galaxy. 

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

The poet has artistically presented a beautiful landscape where there was everything from the daffodils to the waves in the lake, the trees, and the breeze. Moreover, the comparisons to the clouds and the stars in the Milky Way made it more perfect. All in all, there couldn’t have been a better presentation of Nature’s beauty. 
 
What is the poet’s reaction to such beauty of nature?
The poet was very much moved by the beautiful scene he came across. He was staring at the daffodils in awe for quite a long time and even after leaving the place, the flowers left an ever-lasting impression upon his mind. The poet’s reaction to such beauty of nature is reflected throughout the poem —

• He was so happy at the sight of the daffodils that they seemed to him to be dancing in joy.
• Besides personifying the flowers, he even went on to compare the flowers’ joy with that of the waves beside them.
• The poet was so overwhelmed that he exaggerated the scene by saying “Ten thousand saw I at a glance“.
• The poet also repeats the word ‘gazed’ to indicate what charming impact the flowers left upon him — “I gazed and gazed but little thought”.
• Wordsworth even says that the flowers “flash upon that inward eye/ Which is the bliss of solitude“.

Answer: Wordsworth compares the daffodils to the stars as they stretched in a continuous line just like the stars in a galaxy. Moreover, the daffodils were shining (as they were golden in colour) and twinkling (as they were fluttering in the breeze) as the stars. This comparison with the stars may have a greater implication in indicating that the flowers are heavenly as the stars.

Answer:

The poet was very much moved by the sight of the daffodils. So, by comparing the dancing of the daffodils to that of the waves beside them, he merely wanted to express the joy the flowers brought to his mind. 

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:

The waves in the lake were sparkling in joy, but the daffodils seemed to have exceeded the waves in their glee. This is how the poet emphasizes the joyfulness of the sight.

Answer:

William Wordsworth in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads has defined poetry as below --

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

Wordsworth's own poems have often been true to this statement. His poems have been the expressions of his feelings and emotions.

In the present poem ‘Daffodils’, Wordsworth has depicted a host of beautiful golden daffodil flowers that he came across in the valley of Scotland. The beauty of those flowers had left an everlasting impression upon his mind. In his later life, when he spent some lonely moments on his couch, he recollected those beautiful flowers and the memory of those daffodils used to fill his heart with pleasure. That is why the poet wrote this poem. This poem was not a deliberate and artificial attempt of the poet, but a spontaneous expression of his feelings, the joy the flowers had brought to his life. This originates from the ’emotion recollected in tranquility’. Thus the poem ‘Daffodils’ holds true to his own statement about what poetry should be.

Answer:

As the poet Wordsworth describes it in his poem, the dance of the daffodil flowers was a peculiar one as they were very joyous in tossing their heads in the breeze. This is how the poet describes it —

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

So, the dance was not an ordinary one. This was something that was sure to make a poet happy. 

A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:

The poet has used all those expressions — “sprightly dance”, “out-did the sparkling waves in glee”, “be gay”, ‘jocund company” — only to express the sheer cheerfulness of the flowers which moved him so much.

Answer: The poet Wordsworth was so much moved by the beauty of those flowers that they left an everlasting impact on his mind. That is why whenever he is in pensive or vacant mood, the daffodils “flash upon that inward eye” of the poet.

Actually the poet is a nature lover and beauty of nature attracts him more than anything else. He is somewhat obsessed with the fair aspects of nature. This is why it happens to him. He loves to remind those daffodils and be happy with them whenever he is sad. He finds some solace in those flowers.

Answer: The daffodil flowers are yellow and therefore comparable to gold in its colour. Due to the sunshine, the yellow colour of the daffodils appeared so royal and bright that the poet compared the yellow colour of the daffodils to golden. Moreover, the flowers lend the poet a kind of golden memory and bring him joy and happiness that he cherishes in his lonely moments. That is why the daffodils are called ‘golden daffodils’.