Notes of Daffodils

Daffodils

 Extract I

I wander’d lonely…….in the breeze.

1.    Who has been referred to as ‘I’ in the first line of the extract? Where do you think was he wandering?

The poet, William Wordsworth. The poet was wandering near a lake at Grasmere, in England.

2.    What does the poet encounter while wandering? Where does he encounter  them?

He encountered a large number of golden daffodils, besides a lake and beneath the trees.

3.    Why do you think the poet refers to the daffodils as golden?

To symbolise the magical effect it creates in his heart and mind.

4.    Discuss the importance of the following lines with reference to the poem:

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

These lines personify the beautiful daffodils. The poet sees the daffodils growing  along the margin of a bay, and they appear to be dancing and fluttering in the breeze. These lines are important as it was the daffodils’ lively appearance that captivated the poet.

5.    Which figure of speech is used in the following lines? How many daffodils do you think the poet saw? Give reason for you answer.

When al at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils,

Hyperbole. The poet saw a huge group of daffodils along the riverside which can be deduced from the words, ‘crowd’ and ‘host’. Moreover, in a hyperbolic expression, he said, “Ten thousand saw I at a glance.”

Extract II

Continuous as the stars….in sprightly dance.

1.    How are the daffodils compared to the stars?

Continuous as the stars that shine. This simile is used to describe the daffodils spread continuously like the shining stars that twinkle in the night sky.

2.    What is the milky way? Why is it referred to in the extract?

Is the galaxy that contains our Solar System and from the earth it appears as a band of light in the night sky. It  is draw our attention between a crowd of beautiful  daffodils indistinguishable from  each other  and a continuous  band of twinkling  stars in the night sky.

3.    What is meant by the margin of the bay?

The margin means the line where land and water meet. The daffodils  in the poem, line the shore of the lake.

4.    State how the technique of using exaggeration heightens the poetic effect in the extract?

Exaggeration is used to emphasise the large number of daffodils that he saw during his walk along the river. The exaggeration of daffodils stretched endlessly in a ‘never ending line” along the margin of  a bay is beautiful.  The use of such exaggeration thus heightens the poetic effect.

5.    Briefly describe the musical quality of the extract.

Daffodils is a lyric poem. The word ‘lyric’ is derived from ‘lyre’, and it implies that the poem is meant to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre.

The rhyming pattern followed in this poem is that in each stanza the first line rhymes with the third; the second with the fourth; and the fifth with sixth. Each stanza ends with a rhyming couplet.

Extract III

The  waves beside…….show to me had brought.

1.    How did the daffodils outdo the waves?

The water in the lake had ripples looking like waves dancing. The daffodils tossing and dancing like human beings seemed to be competing against these waves. According to the poet, the daffodils  defeated the waves in glee.

2.    What is meant by jocund company?  Which  jocund company is the poet referring to? Why does the poet find it jocund?

It means a happy and gleeful company. The poet is referring to the jocund company of thousands of daffodils.

The beautiful daffodils dancing before the poet captivated him. It made him happy  and refreshed. It made him feel one with nature. That is why he finds  their  company jocund.

3.    Which wealth referred  to by  the poet? Explain how the wealth was brought to the poet?

Wealth refers to the peace and happiness that the show of daffodils fluttering  and dancing before him brought to him, something  he could be  not acknowledge at that very movement.

The wealth was brought to the poet  when he encountered the golden  daffodils surpassing  the beauty of dancing waves.

4.    What is the mood of the poet in the above extract? Which lines tell you so? Why is he in such a mood?

The poet is in a happy and cheerful mood. He himself reflects his happiness in the following lines:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company

The feeling of ones with nature that the poet has experienced  on seeing lively and dancing daffodils is the reason for his happy mood.

5.    With reference to the above extract, state why Wordsworth can be called nature poet.

The poet in the beginning  wanders lonely as a cloud but the vast  belt of daffodils tossing their heads in sprightly dance  captivates him.  The daffodils even outdo the waves and this golden company makes the poet feel happy and one with nature. Thus, Wordsworth can be called a nature poet.

Extract IV

For oft, when on my couch……… with daffodils.

1.    What happens to the poet when the he lies on his couch in a pensive mood?

The image of the golden daffodils flash before him and change his mood into happy one.

2.    What is the ‘bliss of solitude’ referred to in the extract? How does the bliss of solitude take place?

The bliss of solitude is referred to the paradise the poet finds himself in  as soon as the image of golden daffodils flashes before his eyes. His loneliness is overtaken by the image of daffodils which make him feel as if he were dancing along with the daffodils.

3.    Explain the transition from poet’s pensive mood to his heart filled with joy.

When he is in a pensive mood,  the image of golden daffodils flashes before him and changes his mood. The poet, who was lonely in the beginning of the poem, experiences ‘the bliss of solitude’ by the end. He then feels calm and refreshed. The memory of the daffodils fills his heart with joy and he feels  as if his heart were dancing with the daffodils.

4.    With reference to the last two lines of the extract, state the influence that nature can have over an individual’s mind.

Nature becomes positive force for the poet. When the poet lies on his couch in a contemplative mood, the image of dancing daffodils flashes before him, he is filled with happiness. Thus, the very thought of being in the lap of nature uplifts the spirit.

5.    Wordsworth says that poetry is “ the overflow of feelings arising from emotions recollected in tranquillity.’ In this context, state how the poem shows the truth of his statement.

Poetry for Wordsworth does not depend upon rhetorical and literary devices, but is the free expression of the poet’s  thoughts and feelings. When he was away from noisy and polluted cities, he relied  on his memory and reconstructed  his experience of his feelings. Thus collecting his emotions with the help of his memory of encountering daffodils, he composed this poem.