Wordsworth's daffodils poem (often called "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," after the first line) is a simple poem that provides a superb example of Romantic literature. Not much happens within the poem itself. The narrator is originally wandering out in the wild in a lonely and dejected state, until he happens upon a field of daffodils. The sight of the cheery flowers improves the speaker's mood considerably. The narrator ends the poem by saying...
Wordsworth's daffodils poem (often called "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," after the first line) is a simple poem that provides a superb example of Romantic literature. Not much happens within the poem itself. The narrator is originally wandering out in the wild in a lonely and dejected state, until he happens upon a field of daffodils. The sight of the cheery flowers improves the speaker's mood considerably. The narrator ends the poem by saying that the memory of those daffodils always cheers him up whenever he finds himself in a sullen mood.
Despite the poem's simple subject matter, Wordsworth employs some complex figurative language to get his message across. The most significant device that Wordsworth uses is metaphor. The poem abounds with examples of metaphor, such as "I wandered lonely as a cloud" (1), and "[Daffodils] Continuous as the stars that shine/ And twinkle in the milky way" (7-8). By using these metaphors, Wordsworth brings the world of nature to life, turning it into a dynamic entity with a personality all its own. He also employs personification to heighten this effect, saying that the flowers were "tossing their heads in sprightly dance" (12). As for sound devices, the poem follows a simple but effective rhyme scheme of ABABCC, thus providing the piece with an easy-to-follow and reliably musical sound. All in all, it's Wordsworth's skilled and creative use of sound and figurative devices that transform the simple experience of appreciating flowers into a monumental milestone of English literature.
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