Wordsworth DAFFODILS I wandered lonely as a cloud

Wordsworth : “ DAFFODILS” 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.

Wandered may suggest: § The isolation and alienation of the poet § it emphasize his loneliness, and how he feels no connection with anyone around him § That indicates that he didn't have a destination or purpose , he was just wandering about, almost as if in search of a friend

A simile: “ as a cloud” § Floating lonely as a cloud symbolizes a separation from the natural world § he states that he "floats on high o'er vales and hills. " , he is far above the hills and vales, not connected to them. He is apart and separate, and not included. § But also the union between man and nature § Idea of freedom § The habit to dream/ imagination

“When all at once I saw …. golden daffodils” § he re-establishes a connection with nature as he moves through the field of daffodils a crowd, a host…. . Fluttering and dancing § The daffodils are alive and personified endowed with a life and a soul of their own § They are able to feel joy and to transmit it golden…. . § Giving them a higher connototion “ A CERTAIN COLOURING OF IMAGINATION”

“ A CERTAIN COLOURING OF IMAGINATION” “ ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way”

“Beside the lake, beneath the trees, ” § The daffodils are not described, but the poet puts them in relationship to nature

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.

as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, § Earth and heaven are united in the beauty of the daffodils § No more solitude, but a deep union with nature

The waves beside them danced; but they Outdid 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:

A poet could not but be gay, § Only a poet can find himself in a state of creative joy § the importance of the poet's role in society during the Romanticism period. Romantics such as believed it was the poet's responsibility to demonstrate humanity's connection to nature and relay the message to society.

I gazed—and gazed—… § This repetition conveys the impression of the poet breathless, unable to move in front of such a beauty …but little thought § The thought came later wealth § = happiness with the contact with nature. This joy is now the opposite of the loneliness in the first stanza, his life is awakened to new life by the daffodils

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

when on my couch I lie § When the poet sees the daffodils he little tought what they meant to him. § The thought came later, remembering the daffodils and using imagination § Only Imagination enables man to enter into and give life and significance to the world § When at home, in a pensive mood, remembering the sensations felt, you are able to feel emotions

LANGUAGE § “ Language really used by men” § In the first 3 stanzas he uses the past simple, while in the last one he uses the Present Simple. § The change of tenses underlines the gap between the past experience and its remembrance in the poet’s ecstatic vision

WHAT IS POETRY? § The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings = emotions § It comes from “ emotions recollected in tranquillity”