The poet:

William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland, England, and attended
Cambridge University. Wordsworth loved to travel. He visited France and Switzerland in
1790 and took walks through the beautiful countryside he found there. He also saw some
of the terrible battles of the French Revolution.

Wordsworth returned to England in 1793, just as a war between England and France
began. He went to live with his sister in the countryside, and it was in this home where he
discovered that he loved writing poetry. He especially loved writing about the lives and
struggles of common people living in the countryside.

Wordworth's first important book of poems was named Lyrical Ballads (1798). He later
wrote his poetic autobiography, The Prelude and two more books of poems. In 1843, he
became the poet Laureate in England (The Kings' Poet).

1st stanza
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills.
When all at once I saw a crowed,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Vocabulary:
wander: to walk with no important place to go
floats: to move easily through the air
o'er: over
vales: valleys; low areas between hills or mountains

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 1

host: a large number
daffodil: a type of flower
beneath: under
breeze: a gentle wind
fluttering: moving with quick flapping motions

Paraphrase
At the beginning of the poem, the poet is walking with no important
place to go. He feels lonely like a cloud that moves over valleys and hills. He
feels far away from everything and everybody. Suddenly, he sees thousands
of daffodils growing beside a lake and under the trees. The breeze makes the
daffodils growing beside a lake and under the trees. The breeze makes the
daffodils move from side to side as if they were dancing.

Figures of speech
1- Personification: " fluttering and dancing in the breeze"
The poet gives the daffodils the image of people who move and dance
like humans.
2- Simile : " I wander'd lonely as a cloud "
The poet likens himself to a cloud.
Devices
Contrast ; ( lonely x crowd ) ( o'er x beneath ) ( vales x hills )
Alliteration ; ( high - hills ) ( beside - beneath ) to give music
to appeal our sense of hearing.

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 2

Rhyme scheme; ( a b a b c c )

2nd stanza
Continuous as the stars that shines
And twinkle in the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never- ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
vocabulary:
continuous: never stops
shine: to give light
twinkle: giving a sparkling light
stretch'd: spread over a large area
margin: an outer part or edge
bay: a lake
glance: a quick look
sprightly: lively, active
tossing: moving back and forth or up and down
milky way: a band of light across the night caused by the light of a large
number of stars

Paraphrase
The poet compares the daffodils to the stars that are shining on the
Milky Way. The Milky Way sparkles and shines at night. The flowers he sees
spread over a large area along the edge of lake. They seem to cover an area as
large and wide as the stars of the Milky Way. He can see thousands of
daffodils moving back and forth in the wind in a lively way.
Figures of speech
1- Personification: "Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance"

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 3

 The poet gives the daffodils the image of people who raise up their
Heads and dance. The daffodils are dancing like humans. They are also
moving their "heads "as if they have human bodies.

2- Simile : "continuous as the stars that shine"

The poet likens the daffodils to the shining stars.

Rhyme scheme: (d e d e f f )

3rd stanza
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did 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:

Vocabulary:
Out-did: did better than
glee: joy
sparkling: giving off small flashes of light
gay: happy
company: a person's companions
jocund: merry, happy
gaze: to look at something for a long time
wealth: a great amount of money ,riches or other valuable resources

Paraphrase
In this stanza, the poet notices the waves next to the field of daffodils.
The waves of the lake also are moving in the breeze. The waves look like
"leaves" in the water, beside the flowers, but the flowers appear happier than
the waves. The poet says that such a joyful group of flowers could make any

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 4

poet happy. The poet looked for a long time at all of this beautiful and joyful
nature around him. The sight of the daffodils would make him rich with
happiness.
Figures of speech
1- Personification ; " The waves beside them danced "
The poet gives the waves the image of people who can dance like humans.

Personification; "out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;

glee (happiness) is a human emotion. Flowers don't have emotions.
out-did means to have done better in some kind of competition.
flowers cannot compete.

Devices
1- Alliteration ( what - wealth ) to give music to appeal our sense of
hearing.

Rhyme scheme ( g h g h i i)

4th stanza
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 pleasures fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Vocabulary:
oft: often
vacant : empty, or without having thoughts
mood: an emotion or feeling
flash: to shine or like a sudden flame

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 5

inward eye: your thoughts, memories
bliss: extreme happiness
solitude: being alone
pleasure: joy or happiness
couch: a piece of furniture that one can sit or lie on; a sofa
pensive: seeming to be thinking about something sad or serious

Paraphrase
Whenever the poet is alone in his house, relaxing or feeling sad and serious,
The memory of the daffodils appears in his mind. He becomes completely
happy when he remembers the beautiful daffodils that saw one day.he feels
that that his heart is dancing happily with the daffodils, as they danced on the
day he saw them. He understands that nature and his own happiness are
connected.

Figures of speech
1- Personification " And dances with the daffodils "
The poet gives his heart the image of a person who can dance with the
daffodils.
Devices
1- Contrast (vacant x pensive)
2- Alliteration "and dances with the daffodils:

(dances daffodils) have the same sound (d) to give music.

Rhyme scheme: ( j k j k l l)

Commentary
As a romantic poet William Wordsworth shows his great love to the
nature. He describes it perfectly well. He shows his happiness when he sees
the happy nature. The poet uses simple but beautiful language with many

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 6

figures of speech like; simile and personification. The poet shows his great
skill and rich vocabulary in using many words to express happiness in the 3rd
stanza (glee gay jocund wealth). The poet uses devices, contrast and
alliteration, well. The rhyme scheme is simple and regular.

Questions & answers

1- What is meant by poet laureate ?
It is a title England gives to its great poets. It is the highest honour
the poet can have. In the Arab world Ahmed Shawki is the poet laureate of
the Arabic poetry.

2- What is the Romanticism?

It is a new method in the world of art and literature. It appeared in the
eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. It depends on the love of nature,
feeling lonely, showing personal experience and clear ideas.

3- How is William Wordsworth's poem a good example for the

romanticism?
"I wandered lonely as a cloud" is a good example of romantic poetry
as it is for the love of the nature, the poet describes a personal experience,
the poet was alone and the lines are beautiful and clear.

4- What is the main theme of the poem?

Man feels happy when he sees the happy nature.

5- What is the main comparison of the poem?

The poet compares between the daffodils and the waves in the lake.
They both danced beautifully but the daffodils were better.

6. How does the poet feel at the beginning of the poem?

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 7

 7. What does the poet suddenly see? Use your own words to describe it.

8. What does the poet think the daffodils look like?

9. Between stanzas three and four, insert your own verse about the world.

10. What is personified in line 6 (stanza 2) and line 5 (stanza 4)?

11. How are the daffodils and the waves alike?

12. How does the poet feel when he thinks about the large group of
dancing flowers?

13. Where and when does the poet usually remember the daffodils?

14. Using the internet, find at least one poem about nature. Write out the
poem, any information about the author, and a brief summary of the
poem.

15. Use the internet to learn more about the poet William wordworth.use
encyclopaedias or poetry sites to find out biographical information on
Wordworth.

Middle 1 Poetry daffodils 8