Preview

Literary Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
750 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literary Analysis
Haley Franks
Womack
English DC
28 January 2014
“I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud” by William Wordsworth

“I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is a short simple poem that carries the reader in a seemingly out of body experience along the lakeshore under the canopy of the trees to feel and see a beautiful field of daffodils. William Wordsworth often loved to portray the beauty of nature in his poems. Walks he took with his sister, Dorothy, along the countryside, inspired many of his poems. In fact, he used an excerpt from Dorothy’s journal to inspire his writing for “I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud”. Wordsworth reflects in the poem that values are a priceless treasure and nature has healing powers. Using personification, Wordsworth uses the common and destructive sketches about nature to display healing and appeal to the walk in the hills. “Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (He reprinted in Holt McDougal, British Literature [Indianapolis: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2010]) (Lines 5-6) A host, of golden daffodils; he portrays a beautiful yellow hill. “Ten thousand saw I at a glance” (Line 11) Wordsworth uses personification by saying the daffodils came to life. This is a lyrical poem about the poet’s response to nature. “I wondered lonely as a cloud that floats o’er vales and hills” (Lines 1-2) Wordsworth compares himself to a cloud, floating over the valleys and hills. The dreamy theme of these lines appears to reveal a relaxed and calm perspective. “When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils” (Lines 3-4) The hill he sees is covered with thousands of bright and beautiful yellow daffodils. The image described is as if the motion of the flowers directly correlates with the thoughts of the poet. “Beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” (Lines 5-6) The daffodils are all over, and the breeze makes the flowers appear like they are dancing. “Continuous as the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Literally, the persona of the poem is outside when some aspects of the nature around her, like violets and a blackbird, trigger a memory from her childhood. The poem then flashbacks to a childhood memory of the persona as a young girl, which is shown through the indentation of the stanzas, where the girl wakes up in the afternoon thinking it is morning and becomes upset when she wonders ‘Where’s morning gone?’. This continues until she falls asleep in the memory, and we are brought back to the present. The last stanza sums up some of her most valued childhood memories which continue to ‘drift in the air’ and remain with her.…

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He states in the first stanza that he wanders “lonely as a cloud/That floats on high o’er vales and hills,” which, in just reading the first line, may seem a bit melancholy. However, interpreting the vision of a magnificent cloud alone in the sky puts a positive spin on the idea. Additionally, the second line serves as a reminder of that positivity. He then refers to a vast expanse of flowers as “a crowd,/a host, of golden daffodils,” suggesting that the amount of flowers is overwhelming, but in no way is it a sign that one should not venture further. On the contrary, it seems a lot more like an invitation to join in on the ‘party’ that the flowers are having. If Wordsworth had simply called it “a bunch/a group of flowers,” it would not have had nearly the same effect, because ‘group’ and ‘crowd’ have very different implications as far as size goes. He furthers the hyperbole in the second stanza by calling the flowers “Continuous as the stars that shine/And twinkle on the milky way.” For most, the number of stars in our galaxy is entirely unfathomable. Furthermore, the idea of that many things existing in just one area on our planet is almost overwhelming, and it puts a great sprightly feeling into the reader’s…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Henry Muir Analysis

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As well as the tone he uses is exactly what he wants us to see that nature has power over him. Wordsworth uses diction when he says, “lonely as a cloud” This shows the negative felling his going through. He feels lonely and very sad. His diction connotes to something unpositive his going through so this is the start of the poem that guides us through what was the purpose of his walk and that indeed he is sad. "A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company" another example of diction that has a positive connotation his heart is now filled with happiness as he is accompanied by this positive and happy people. He is even using personification because he is the daffodils human characteristics that they are cheerful company like a human…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” tells the story about when he took a stroll by himself and found a field of daffodils. “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.” Wordsworth is describing how he first found the daffodils, which are beside the lake. He took his time to realize their movements in the breeze. “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.” In the last stanza of his poem, Wordsworth describes how he feels after coming in contact with the daffodils. He states that “his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the daffodils.”…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The image that is firstly drawn in the first stanza is that of a blade of grass amid a field and the counterpart associated is represented as a dandelion.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are many essentials to surviving in life. After the basic necessities such as water, food, intimacy, and shelter are met, finding your personal identity is the most significant to the dynamics of life. Personal identity can be defined as the distinguishing character by which an individual is infinitively recognizable or known. Personal identity makes a person who he or she is to be defined as. According to Greek philosopher Aristotle, identity is a concept that refers to the aspect of existence; therefore, the aspect of existence is something in particular, with specific characteristics. Finding who we truly are can aid in loving, identifying, and accepting ourselves. Notary short stories, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, “Hollow” by Breece D'J Pancake, and “Until Gwen” by Dennis Lehane are great exemplifications of how the struggle with identity hurt or harm the develop of an individual’s character.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Muir And Wordsworth

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a very descriptive poem about nature and how it connects to his feelings, which allows the readers to imagine what he is feeling through nature. In “I Wandered Lonely as a cloud Wordsworth states directly how he is feeling: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. That floats on high o'er vales and hills.” Wordsworth describes what he sees as he is wandering. Wordsworth is describing many things in these two lines. He is describing his feelings, the weather, his homeland, and an upcoming storm. He is connecting all of these things about nature to his emotions at that moment. Wordsworth states, “A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company:”, which means he is not a happy person but as he is wandering, he can’t help but feel joy with all the beautiful nature around him.”I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is beautiful written poem…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Literary Analysis

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages

    A Literary Analysis on Flanner O 'Connor 's “A Good Man is Hard to Find”…

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Literary Analysis

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Authors write for a purpose, for something that they believe in. Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Second Convention and Thomas Paine’s The Crisis No. 1 both have similar goals and purposes.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    All throughout Hopkins’ poem he exhibited imagery. In the spring all the greenery returns. The wind is blowing. Flowers are blooming. He used alliteration to grab the reader’s attention related to the growing weeds. Simile was used to show the intensity of the sound. He uses the Eden Garden to portray how beautiful spring could look…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Compare the ways poets show peoples relationships with nature in ‘Below the Green Corrie’ and one other poem you have studied.…

    • 770 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The language of the “I Wondered as a Cloud” is much more soft and respecting towards the nature. William Wordsworth doesn’t use “my” at all in his poem, because his poem is not so egoistic. It is not a surprise that that this poem’s other title is The Daffodils. The poet shows his great respect towards nature and he uses a rhythmic style that helps him to get our…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Four legs good, two legs bad.” page 50. This statement, exclaimed by the sheep in Animal Farm, analyzes how they willingly stated anything they were taught to say with little education of what it meant. Animal Farm was written by George Orwell, whose real name is Eric Blair. He was born in 1903, and during the Russian Revolution, was a part of the lower-middle class; anti-stein. Blair, being in the lower-middle class, realized how Stalin took advantage of the uneducated by corrupting Russia. In his dystopian novel Animal Farm, George Orwell uses character motivation and symbolism to convey his theme: education is the key to freedom.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    dicknson

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    • The most memorable image in the poem is that of a wild flower: “this little Blaze/ Flickering to itself-”…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem follows the narrator’s internal monologue as he revisits a place of nostalgia that ignited his love of nature. His fears that the picturesque scene of his childhood has been idealized are quieted as he sees the place for the first time in five years, falling in love with the environment all over again. He even credits nature as “The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,/The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul/Of all my moral being” (Wordsworth LL. 109-111). His ecological thinking recharges his soul and makes him feel joyful about life once again. Nature also connects the narrator to his sister, who he sees himself in because of their love of the countryside. He acknowledges his sister the first time in the poem as his “dear, dear Friend; and in thy voice I catch/The language of my former heart, and read/My former pleasures in the shooting lights/Of thy wild eyes” (Wordsworth LL.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays