Who wandered like a lonely cloud and where ?

The poet William Wordsworth wanders like a lonely cloud over the valleys and hills .

 Who does he come across while wandering ?

While wandering among the valleys and hills the poet comes across the host of the golden daffodils
flowers.

 Where were the daffodils and what where they doing ?

The daffodils were by the side of the lake under the trees. They were fluttering under in the breeze as if
they were dancing like human beings expressing their joy and energy.

 What is being compared to the stars and why ?

The host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake under the tree are being compared to the stars.
A milky way is a cluster of stars which shine brightly across a huge stretch of space . Similarly like the
stars in the milky way the poet feels that the daffodils are not only uncountable but also they are
dancing with full energy and joy in never ending line along the margin of the lake .

 How many did the poet see at a glance?

The poet saw maybe ten thousand at a glance.

 What were the daffodils doing? Which literary device is used here?

The daffodils were dancing merrily in the breeze. The poet is using personification here when he
compares the movement of the daffodils in the breeze to dancing humans.

 Which wealth is referred to by the poet?

The wealth which is referred to here by the poet means wealth of joy and happiness; which actually
comes from happy and fond memories when the poet saw a host of golden daffodils by the side of
the lake beneath the trees.

 Whom did the daffodils out do and how ?

The daffodils outdid the waves in the lake. The daffodils seemed to be dancing like human beings
expressing their joy and energy when the breeze blew over them. Both the flowers and waves seem to
be in competition to show their feelings and expressions.

 Which jocund company is the poet referring to ?

The poet is referring to the jocund company of the host of golden daffodils dancing in joy by the side of
the lake under the trees. Along with them the waves in the lake too were dancing by the side of the
daffodils . A poet was bound to be happy in such a joyful company of the daffodils and the waves.

 Which wealth is referred to by the poet?

 What happens to the poet when he is sometime in a pensive mood?

Whenever the poet lived on his couch in a unoccupied and sad mood the fond and happy memory of
the daffodil flowers flushed upon his eye of imagination which is a source of joy and inspiration to
the poet in such his lonely mood.

 What is the bliss of solitude referred to here?

By the term ‘bliss of solitude’ the poet wants to express that he felt really happy in the joyful company
of the daffodil flowers and the waves. They seemed to compete with each other in such a mood. The
poet caught the joyful mood and thus became a part of nature itself. He only kept on watching the
scene, unable to decide what wealth of joy, he had received from it. The greatest benefit of this
experience was that whenever the poet lay on his couch in an unoccupied and sad mood, the fond and
the sweet memory of the daffodils crashed upon his eye of imagination; which a source of joy and
inspiration to the poet in his lonely and pensive mood.

 What does he mean by the ‘inward eye’?

The inward eye refers to the eye of his imagination , his soul which can provide him the sight of the
daffodils in his memory and he can once again experience the same joy which he had experienced when
he had seen the daffodils.

 Describe in your own words the poet’s feelings when he sees the host of golden daffodils ?

The poet was thrilled to see a host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake under the trees moving
their head in a joyful dance. They seemed to be dancing like a human being expressing their energy
and joy. When the poet saw the flowers, his imagination travelled to another world to find a
comparison. He was reminded of the stars twinkling in the milky way at night. The long line of the
daffodils flowers bore comparison with the bright stars seen across the night sky.

 Why does the poet say I gazed and gazed but a little thought / what wealth that show to me had
brought?

The poet was alone. He was moving about aimlessly over the high valleys and hills watching the
beautiful scenes of nature. Suddenly he saw a great number of golden coloured flowers by the side
of the lake under the trees moving their heads in joyful dance. The waves in the lake, by the side of
the flowers, were also dancing but the daffodils had outdone the waves in their expression of joy. A
poet felt happy in such a joyful company of the dancing flowers and the waves. In sheer delight and
surprise he could not decide what joy this sight had brought for him. He could perhaps gaze at the
pleasure of the present moment but he could not imagine how again and again in the future he
would recall and re-live this experience and what ecstasy that memory would bring for him.

 Mention the two moods of the poet?

The two moods of the poet are:

ii)A pensive mood when he is serious and thoughtful.

 How is the last verse different from the other verse? Is the poet deriving a different mood than
that expressed in the previous verse?

The last verse of the poem ‘Daffodils’ explores the poet’s feelings when he reminisces the scene of
daffodils he witnessed much earlier. The first three verses describe the host of golden, happy and
beautiful daffodils he saw one day. The last verse discusses what an enriching experience that had
been. That sight still plays on in the mind of the poet and gives him inner peace and inspires him.

 How can the heart dance?

The heart can dance when a man feels happy. When his heart is filled with great pleasure and he
feels great thrill. Then it is said that his heart dances.

 What does Wordsworth compare himself to? Why?

Wordsworth is comparing himself to a cloud in the sky, wandering without a destination, as can be
seen in Line 1 of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. Since he is in the sky like a floating cloud
the poet is able to see all the things and events in the world. He has a comprehensive view but he
can only observe the world at a distance. Being lonely like a floating cloud in the sky, the poet
experiences freedom and loneliness at the same time. The freedom allows the poet to appreciate
the beauty of the world whole-heartedly, such as the daffodils. As a powerless and aimless cloud,
the poet could only watch and appreciate, but he could not join the daffodils in dancing and
fluttering in the breeze.

 How is he affected by the experience of seeing the daffodils?

He is delighted by the wonderful sight. This is explicitly revealed in the use of diction of ‘bliss’ and
‘pleasure’, and he is so happy that his heart seems to dance with the daffodils. He also feels the bliss
of solitude, because it is peaceful and comfortable to be alone sometimes in such a huge open area,
and seeing the flowers, he wants to become a part of them.

 What does Wordsworth compare the daffodils to? Is the comparison appropriate?

The writer is amazed by the daffodils’ number and beauty, thus he compares the daffodils with the
stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way continuously, and also refers them as personified
characters, a crowd that dances and flutters in the breeze, and tossing their heads in sprightly
dance.

 Who are ‘they’ referred to in the third line of the last stanza? When had the poet come across
them?

The ‘they’ referred to in the third line of the last stanza are the lively and beautiful dancing daffodils.
The poet had earlier seen them when he was wandering in solitude over hills and valleys and he had
suddenly come across a multitude daffodils beside a lake dancing in the breeze.

 Explain the phrase ‘bliss of solitude’ in the context in which it has been used.
 The phrase ‘bliss of solitude’ implies that solitude is pleasant as it gives the poet the opportunity to
dwell on the memory of the daffodils dancing in the breeze. lt is only when he is free and alone that
the sight of the daffodils flashes upon his imagination and he can once again experience the
happiness he had earlier felt. But this happens only in solitude.

 What do you think is the message of the poem?

The message of the poem is that the little moments in life could be the most profound. The poet felt
that nature gives man peace and joy and is a constant source of happiness. He believed that man
and nature are one.

 The poet compares the flowers to the milky way. Is the comparison apt?

Like the Milky Way , the flowers are roughly concentrated in a line that seem to stretch as far as the eye
can see (“never-ending”). The flowers line the shore (“margin”) of a bay of the lake, which must be a
relatively large lake. The Milky Way appears to be a band that has more stars and a brighter appearance
than the night sky around it. It’s not a perfectly clear line, but more like a fuzzy approximation of a line.
We imagine the same effect with the flowers. It’s not as if there are no flowers outside the shore of the
lake, but most of them are concentrated on the shore. So to a large extent the comparison is apt.

 Explain the following:

They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;

Whenever the poet gets in a pensive mood, the image of the daffodils “flashes” through his mind. The
“inward eye” or his imagination expresses what Wordsworth felt to be a deeper, truer spiritual vision. A
person cannot share his or her own spiritual vision completely with others, and so it is a form of
“solitude.” But its truth and beauty make it “blissful.” When the memory of the flowers and the lake
flashes into his head, he feels happy again. It’s almost like the same experience he had while
“wandering” through nature at the beginning of the poem, when the real daffodils pushed the
loneliness out of his head. The memory of the daffodils is as good as the real thing. His heart is set to
dancing, just like the flowers. He dances along “with” them – they are his cheerful companions once
again.