“The Daffodils”
The
most famous poem in English language “Daffodils” also known by title “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a lyric poem
written by Romantic poet Laureate William Wordsworth, who along with Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with
their joint publication Lyrical Ballad. In this collaborative work poetry was
defined in new light which is quite different than poetic style and structure
of eighteenth century. Along with the beginning of romantic era, nature was
thought to be a proper subject matter for poetry as well as the much emphasis
was put on use of simple language, imagination, originality and poetic freedom.
In contrast to the exaggerate language of poetry in earlier time, simplicity of
language became a landmark in poetry which enables everyone to understand the
meaning of it. Though the many poems
written during that period by John Keats, P.B.Shelley, Coleridge and so on,
Worswroth’s Daffodis can be considered as the simplest and finest poem written
by him during Romantic age as well as it deals with romantic principle of,
“Poetry
is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquillity”
“The
word ‘Daffodils’ and ‘Wordsworth’ go hand in hand with one another”.
This
mesmering poem was composed in 1804, two years after Wordsworth saw the
daffodils while walking along the shore of Ullswater on a stormy day with his
sister, Dorothy, the account written in journal by Dorothy was also remained a
inspiration for Wordsworth in writing this poem. The poem was first published
in 1807 and final version was published in 1815, celebrates the beauty of
nature which remain a ‘bliss of solitude’. Divided in four stanza, first three
stanzas deal with descriptive beauty of nature whereas last stanza is
recollection of the poet’s experience.
The theme of the poem spins around a collections of human emotions largely inspired by nature which were at larger extend unnoticed by people in their busy lives. The daffodils as metaphor used here to indicate the beginning or rebirth for human beings, blessed with the grace of nature.
The
meaning of the title of the poem is very meaningful. Daffodils are yellow
flower which reminds us a arrival of winter with their amazing shape and
beautiful fragrances. Basically the poem is about poets experience among the
field surrounded by thousands of daffodils.
Once
the poet was lonely aimlessly wondering by the lake side, fascinated by natures
beauty, his loneliness leaded him to compare himself with natural elements. In
the very opening line of the poem, he metaphorically compared himself with
natural object such as cloud and Daffodils. All at once he saw a large number of golden
daffodils, grew along the bank of river and
moving and dancing in breeze. They grew in extend that poet could see it
as far as his eyes could reach. This scenario seems to him as continuous line
of starts shining in the Milky Way. This never ending scenario of beauteous
daffodils is wonderful which we can also feel when poet says he could have seen
at least a ten thousand of them at glance. With the flow of the poem, daffodils
are continuosly personified by poet, daffodils were described as they were
“tossing their heads” merely. Along with them, waves in the wake were also
dancing. That beautiful sight filled him with great joy, for a while he kept on
gazing them and felt the happiness of being with such a delightful company.
Though
the daffodils are common for the people, poetic mind and eyes find a beauty and
bliss in them.
Though he was enjoying the natural beauty of
Daffodils, he was unaware of the fact that it could prove him valuable in the
years to come whenever he was in pensive mood.
A
bunch of daffodils symbolizes the joy and happiness of life.
Whenever
the poet laid on his couch falling in deeply thoughts or sadness, the scene of
daffodils would flesh in his imagination; this memory of daffodils would
immediately filled his heart with pleasure as well as he started to fill as he
were dancing with flowers. In such way last stanza of poem provides a scenario
of poet’s personal emotions and how the memory of daffodils could be the
greatest blessing of his solitude. This is so precious experience for him and
that’s why till the time he didn’t able to forget it. Whenever he is in vacant mood, flashing
memory of sheer daffodils feel his heart with ecstasy.
In nutshell, the wordsworthian tone of poem is not only praise the beauty or depicts it as its best form but it also emphasizes beauty as an ultimate source of human inspiration.
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