(Alex Young) "Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D 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 stretch'd 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 poem starts out being very gloomy, he seams sad or lonely. Then he thinks of a field of daffodils and is instantly cheered up be the amazing appearance of his vision. “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, until he sees a field of daffodils, “When all at once I saw a crowd, / A host, of golden daffodils.” The cloud is representing his gloomy, sad feeling in the beginning, the flowers representing joy because they are full of color. He is imagining this beautiful field of flowers which is cheering him up from his sadness. William Wordsworth did a very nice job in capturing the image of the field of flowers and making us imagine it. Wordsworth writes this poem to show us how powerful nature can be and how it can change our mood if we take a break and enjoy it. At the very end of the poem he says: "For oft, when on my coach I lie In vacant or 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" This make me think that this whole field of flowers is a vision that is being used to distract him and help lighten his mood. This poem shows the true power of the imagination and nature.