The repetition of the word ‘gazed’ reinforces the idea that the speaker looked at the scene for a long time. Note the implication that the glee is infectious: it appears as though the daffodils have passed it on to the waves, and to the poet himself. From being ‘sprightly’ in the previous stanza, the flowers are now full of ‘glee’. The intensity of emotions conveyed is also steadily increasing as the poem progresses. It is even more vibrant now, and the addition of the description ‘tossing their heads’ really does make it seem as though the flowers have an active will of their own.Īre you beginning to notice how the poet ascribes human qualities to the natural world? In this stanza, it isn’t just the flowers but also the waves that are dancing. Note how the dancing from the previous stanza has now become a ‘sprightly dance’. The daffodils aren’t actually in a never-ending line, but there are so many of them that the line seems never-ending so, in one sense, it is never-ending because the eye cannot see the end of it. Here, the poet is drawing attention to the fact that perception can differ from reality. The word ‘never-ending’ is also an exaggeration. In this stanza, Wordsworth makes use of hyperbole or exaggeration by saying that he saw ‘ten thousand’ daffodils ‘at a glance’. However, dancing conveys a sense of agency: it’s an active action, whereas ‘fluttering’ is a more passive one.Ĭontinuous as the stars……. Usually, something flutters because something else causes it to flutter. By comparing himself to a cloud, the poet is perhaps trying to participate in the natural order of things or perhaps trying to pretend that he is a cloud in order to avoid confronting whatever issues make him lonely.Īlso interesting in this stanza is the difference between the actions of ‘fluttering’ and ‘dancing’. What the poet can derive from observations of the natural world is no less important than the lessons taught by religious doctrines. This meaning recalls one of the most fundamentals concerns of most Romantic poets: to think of nature the way others think of religion. It has many connotations, but as a collective noun, it is used most often to refer to angels. Think about the connotative meaning of the word ‘host’. The daffodils aren’t just a ‘crowd’ but a ‘host’. Did you notice the contrasts in this stanza? The poet is depicted as a single, lonely person.
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