English Poems Index


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.



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.



By William Wordsworth



About The Poet :

William Wordsworth (1770-1850), one of the greatest English poets, was born in the Lake District of England, an area of great beauty. Wordsworth's treatment of Nature is his chief glory as a poet. He spent a great amount of time on walks in the countryside and he used his keen sense of observation to take note of all that he saw around him. He got much joy out of Nature and this is clearly evident in his poetry.

Other poets see the beauty that is in Nature, the colours, the forms and all the other details. Wordsworth sees all this and more. He always felt there was something much deeper than that which was visible only on the surface. He looks on nature with his inward eye and the glory of it enters into his heart and soul.

The Daffodils is one of Wordsworth's most famous short poems. In it the poet remembers that he once saw a beautiful scene, a lake and the daffodils beside it. At that time he was full of happiness because he felt everything around him was happy.

There are three main ideas or parts in the poem. The first deals with the poet himself. We learn something about him. The second is about nature-the daffodils, the lake, the clouds and the stars. The third is about the relationship between the poet and Nature. We learn that Nature plays an important part in his life. This last point is the most important.



Words to Know :

Glee : mirth, joy

Host : a large number of

Jocund : merry

Milky Way : a wide band of millions of stars in the sky : our sun is one of these stars

Oft : often

Pensive : thoughtful

Solitude : being alone

Sprightly : lively

Vacant : empty, not filled or occupied

Vales : valleys