My Ideas
Gabriella Thompson
8-8
October 11, 2012
Poetry Analysis
The Yellow Wonder of the World The poem “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth is a beautiful poem overflowing with impressive literary devices. In this poem the speaker finds he wandering alone and upon seeing a wonderful field of daffodils, is enlightened. He describes these daffodils along with their surroundings, excited and brightened by them. Later the speaker describes how each time he is in discomfort, he thinks of the scene of daffodils and his spirits are lifted. Wordsworth uses figurative language, sound devices and imagery to help form tone, create mood and uncover meaning. One way William Wordsworth developed tone, mood and meaning is through figurative language, also known as writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. One form of figurative language used in the poem is similes. A simile is a comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison is used. One example from “Daffodils” is “I wandered lonely as a cloud/ That floats on high o’er vales and hills,” (1-2). The significance of the use of this simile is to show exactly how he wandered, which makes a big impact on the tone and mood of the poem. This simile means wandering slowly, not going so fast, but instead taking the time to observe surroundings. In the next line, he expands on his simile by talking about where a cloud would go. This makes this figurative language piece even stronger because it makes you more interested in what he is trying to show you. This contributes to tone and mood because the speaker’s emotion is so clearly felt as melancholy, and especially desolate. The reader can feel peaceful, but can also feel discontented from the simile. Another figurative language term he uses is a hyperbole, or an intentional extreme exaggeration done for emphasis or comic effect. An example from the chosen poem is “They stretched in never ending line/Along the margin of a bay: / Ten thousand saw I at a
8-8
October 11, 2012
Poetry Analysis
The Yellow Wonder of the World The poem “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth is a beautiful poem overflowing with impressive literary devices. In this poem the speaker finds he wandering alone and upon seeing a wonderful field of daffodils, is enlightened. He describes these daffodils along with their surroundings, excited and brightened by them. Later the speaker describes how each time he is in discomfort, he thinks of the scene of daffodils and his spirits are lifted. Wordsworth uses figurative language, sound devices and imagery to help form tone, create mood and uncover meaning. One way William Wordsworth developed tone, mood and meaning is through figurative language, also known as writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. One form of figurative language used in the poem is similes. A simile is a comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison is used. One example from “Daffodils” is “I wandered lonely as a cloud/ That floats on high o’er vales and hills,” (1-2). The significance of the use of this simile is to show exactly how he wandered, which makes a big impact on the tone and mood of the poem. This simile means wandering slowly, not going so fast, but instead taking the time to observe surroundings. In the next line, he expands on his simile by talking about where a cloud would go. This makes this figurative language piece even stronger because it makes you more interested in what he is trying to show you. This contributes to tone and mood because the speaker’s emotion is so clearly felt as melancholy, and especially desolate. The reader can feel peaceful, but can also feel discontented from the simile. Another figurative language term he uses is a hyperbole, or an intentional extreme exaggeration done for emphasis or comic effect. An example from the chosen poem is “They stretched in never ending line/Along the margin of a bay: / Ten thousand saw I at a