"Daffodils" by William Wordsworth

“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.The poem is divide in four stanza with each stanza having a six lines. There are eight syllables in each line and it has iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ababcc.

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.