I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" was inspired by his observations from a day spent in the Lake District. In April of 1802, Wordsworth and his sister were going for a walk when they came across a long stretch of daffodils. The poem encapsulates the core values of Romanticism; Wordsworth describes the natural world, the solitariness of the individual, and the awe that is inspired by nature.

The daffodils are described by Wordsworth as "Fluttering and dancing in the breeze" (6), personifying the daffodils by giving them human characteristics. The word choice in this line is significant, since "fluttering" and "dancing" have a carefree connotation, stressing the beauty and gracefulness of the flowers.

In the last stanza of the poem, Wordsworth is saying that when he's finally able to enjoy some time alone and free to think, he pictures the daffodils he saw on that day in April. Upon this memory, Wordsworth writes, "my heart with pleasure fills" (23).

"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.

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.

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:

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."

Works Cited

Wordsworth, William. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud.