I wandered lonely as a cloud

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

By: William Wordsworth Abril Zapater

Index

1. Author

2. Poem+Audio

3. Illustrations

4. Analysis

5. Flower

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Author

William Wordsworth was an English poet born in Cockermouth, Great Britain in 1770. He died in Rydal Mount in 1850. He published the poem 'I wandered lonaly as a cloud', also known as 'Daffodils', in 1809 in a book called 'Poems in two volumes'. The literary movement was involved was the Romatic movement, or Romanticism.

Poem and Audio

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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.

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.

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Illustrations

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Analysis

This poem talks about a scene the speaker comes up with about a bay that is full of golden daffodils fluttering beneath some trees. The person feels happy when thinking about this scene, although before he saw the daffodils he felt lonely. We know that because the first line tells us by saying 'I wandered lonely as a cloud'. As the poem keeps on going, he realizes that the wealth this scene gives him is happiness. In conclusion , the author in this poem is describing how happy the daffodils make him feel, making him start feeling happy as he sees the beautiful sight after feeling alone for quite some time.

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Flower

Daffodils are the flowers described in this poem. This yellow flowers have golden petals on a green stalk. They usually appear in Europe and in Northern Africa. The botanical name for this flower is Narcissus because of the word ναρκῶ narkō and a myth. This flower produces some alakloids called lycorine that are used to to treat Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. This flower is associated with rebirth and new beginnings, although in Victorian times t meant unrequited love and chivalry.

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Rydal Mount

This famous museum house was once Wordsworth's favorite house. He lived here from May 1st 1813 to 1870, the year he died. This house is now a museum opened to the public located in Great Britain.