I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth VIII, 2024

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I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

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.

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was a renowned English poet of the Romantic era. He, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, published "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798, a work that marked the beginning of the Romantic movement in English literature. Wordsworth is known for his celebration of nature, the ordinary, and the profound emotions of human experience in his poetry. Notable works include "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" and "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," which features the famous lines about daffodils.

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.

Word Meaning: 

1. wandered (v) : moved / loitered 

2. floats (v) - [ I ] to stay on the surface of a liquid and not sink

3. fluttering (v) - .[ I or T ] to make a series of quick delicate movements up and down or from side to side, or to cause something to do this

4. stretched (v)- spread 

5. tossing (v): moving 

6. sprightly (adj): lively 

SUMMARY 

Summary of the stanza I

In this part of the poem, the speaker describes a moment when he was walking alone and feeling solitary like a cloud. Suddenly, he comes across a large group of golden daffodils near a lake, beneath the trees. The daffodils are described as fluttering and dancing in the breeze, creating a beautiful and uplifting scene that contrasts with the speaker's initial sense of loneliness. The sight of the daffodils brings a sense of joy and inspiration to the speaker.

Summary of the stanza II

In this part, the speaker continues to describe the vast number of daffodils he encountered. He compares the continuous spread of the daffodils to the stars that shine and twinkle in the Milky Way. The flowers form an unbroken line along the edge of a bay, and the speaker estimates seeing ten thousand of them at a glance. The daffodils are depicted as lively and energetic, tossing their heads in a sprightly dance, contributing to the enchanting and vibrant scene.

Short Summary: "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a poem by William Wordsworth that describes the poet's experience of witnessing a field of daffodils while feeling lonely and melancholic. The sight of the dancing flowers brings him immense joy and serves as a lasting source of inspiration, uplifting his spirits even in solitude.