Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Notes: Daffodils by Wordsworth


In preface to the Lyrical Ballads Wordsworth says that “a poet is a man speaking to men in the language of men”.
Thus in his poetry he uses simple and clear language that can be understood by ordinary people. His topics are drawn from common life. He also says that “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: It takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

Wordsworth is called a Romantic poet. Romanticism is a movement in literature and art that developed in Europe in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It held classicism which held society as the most important thing, denied expression to men’s emotional nature and over-looked its important inner forces. Romanticism upholds high values and aspirations of individuals above those of society. Romantic poets looked to the middle ages and direct contact with the nature for impressions.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud" is a short lyric greatly admired for its typical Wordsworthian simplicity, spontaneity and naturalness of style and diction. Rooted in a real life experience, its rich imagery and pictorial descriptions greatly enhance the charm. The poem is a great testimony to the great bond between man and nature.

One of the major themes of the poem is the healing influence of Nature. It brings the soothing touch of tranquility and restores to him his inner peace. The joy offered by nature is not merely instant. Nature can bless a responsive heart with perpetual joy. 

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