The Daffodils - Poem
I wander’d lonely as a cloud,
That
floats on high o’er vale 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.
The Daffodils - About the Poet
William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).
Wordsworth’s magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semi-autobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded a number of times. It was posthumously titled and published by his wife in the year of his death, before which it was generally known as “the poem to Coleridge”.
Soure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth
The Daffodils - Summary
The poet or the speaker in this poem, says
that, once while “wandering like a cloud floating above hills and valleys”, he
came across a field of daffodils beside a lake. The dancing, fluttering flowers
stretched endlessly along the shore, and though the shining waves of the lake
danced beside the flowers, yet the daffodils outdid the water with their
beauty.
The poet says that the
golden daffodils twinkled and stretched in a continuous line just like the
stars in the Milky Way galaxy for putting a greater implication in indicating
that the flowers are heavenly as the stars. He seems the endless view of the
golden daffodils as a never-ending line. The poet’s exaggeration of the number
of flowers by saying “Ten thousand saw I at a glance” indicates that he has
never seen so many daffodils at once. The poet could not help to be happy in
such a joyful company of flowers.
He says that he stared
and stared, but did not realize what wealth the scene would bring him. For now,
whenever he feels “vacant” or “pensive” the memory strikes “that inward eye”
that is “the bliss of solitude” and his heart fills with pleasure, “and dances
with the daffodils.”
All Question Answers
1. Read the first stanza. Then find the answer to the
following question: With what does the poet William Wordsworth compare himself?
Ans:- The poet William Wordsworth
compares himself with a piece of lonely cloud.
2. Read the second stanza. Now find out the following: With
what does Wordsworth compare the daffodils?
Ans:- The poet William Wordsworth
compares daffodils with continuous stars that shine and twinkle on the
milky-way.
3. Read and recite the third stanza. Now find out what
Wordsworth by ‘Jocund’ company from the options below?
i.
Happy
and cheerful
ii.
Talkative
iii.
Quiet
and sad
Ans:- By the word ‘Jocund’,
Wordsworth means happy and cheerful.
4. Read and recite the lines:
“I gazed-and-gazed-but little
thought
What wealth the show to me had
brought.”
What does the poet William
Wordsworth in this poem mean by the word ‘wealth’? Why does he use the word
here?
Ans:- When the poet says, “what wealth the show to me had brought”, it shows that the mere sight of the golden daffodils somehow enriched his life and brought wealth to him.
By the word ‘wealth’, the poet means that this sense of peace and joy are worth more to the speaker than wealth.
5. Read the last stanza of the poem and find out the following information:
What happens to the poet when he lies on his couch in a sad and thoughtful mood?
Ans:- When the poet lies on his couch in a sad and thoughtful mood, he comes down from the cloud and reveals the reality of his current physical state. Even
though he no longer sees the dancing waves and golden daffodils he says that he will never forget them.
See more question-answers
6. Choose the correct option in each of the following questions.
a. The poet compare himself to
i.
A
piece of lonely cloud
ii.
A
host of golden daffodils
iii.
A
lake
iv.
The
trees
Ans:- A piece of lonely cloud.
b. While wandering alone, the poet saw
i.
A
crowd of people
ii.
Clouds
floating over vales and hills
iii.
A
host of golden daffodils
iv.
A
lake
Ans:- A host of golden daffodils.
c. The poet compares the daffodils to
i.
A
lonely cloud
ii.
A
lake
iii.
The
stars in the milky way
iv.
A
bay
Ans:- The stars in the milky way.
d. The ‘jocund company’ referred to is the company of
i.
The
daffodils
ii.
The
sparkling waves of the lake
iii.
The
dancing daffodils and the waves of the lake
iv.
The
stars on the milky way
Ans:- The dancing
daffodils and the waves of the lake.
e. The inward eye of the poet is the poet’s
i.
Vacant
mood
ii.
Thoughtful
mood
iii.
Imagination
iv.
Bliss
of solitude
Ans:- Thoughtful mood.
7. Read the poem and match the following.
The waves filled with pleasure and
danced with the daffodils.
The poet danced beside the
daffodils
A cloud stretched in a never
ending line
The daffodils floated over valleys and
hills
The poet’s heart saw a host of golden daffodils
Continue reading
Ans:-
The
waves – danced beside the daffodils.
The
poet – saw a host of golden daffodils.
A
cloud – floated over valleys and hills.
The
daffodils – stretched in a never ending line.
The
poet’s heart – filled with pleasure and danced with the daffodils.
8. Rewrite the following poetic lines in everyday
English.
i.
Ten
thousand saw I at a glance.
Ans:- I saw ten thousand at a
glance.
ii.
For
oft when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood.
Ans:- Often when I lie in my
vacant couch in a pensive mood.
iii.
Then
my heart with pleasure fills.
Ans:- Then my heart fills with pleasure.
thank you sir for the help.