Compare William Wordsworth And John Muir's I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

Muir creatively informs the reader just how much the main character truly loves nature. The same marvel and beauty is shared in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” After a long climb over a high hill he finds his reward a valley shining with a huge field of daffodils. “Besides the lakes, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” As Wordsworth explains the scene. As each scene pops out of the poem, a new addition to the painting in your mind appears each time. The painting may vary from person to person, but I believe the same sense of awe is present with every mind. The portions cited are just the beginning of these two works; enough to splash your mind with colors and emotions, but later parts are what truly makes them worth reading.

“Mother to Son” develops a sense of happiness and determination. As Hughes explains that the mother endures trials and tribulations throughout the poem, we find that she continues to persevere, setting a wonderful example for her son. In contrast, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” uses a tone which is somewhat different to “Mother to Son.” Wordsworth takes a different approach in showing an individual’s feelings. Wordsworth’s character feels lonely and depressed. Suddenly, the tone changes to a more joyful and appreciative tone when he stumbles upon a field of daffodils. Clearly, the tones of each poem differ and resemble each other at the same

The poet orders his listener to behold a “solitary Highland lass” reaping and singing by herself in a field. He says that anyone passing by should either stop here, or “gently pass” so as not to disturb her. As she “cuts and binds the grain” she “sings a melancholy strain,” and the valley overflows with the beautiful, sad sound. The speaker says that the sound is more welcome than any chant of the nightingale to weary travelers in the desert, and that the cuckoo-bird in spring never sang with a voice so thrilling. Impatient, the poet asks, “Will no one tell me what she sings?” He speculates that her song might be about “old, unhappy, far-off things, / And battles long ago,” or that it might be humbler, a simple song about “matter of today.” Whatever she sings about, he says, he listened “motionless and still,” and as he traveled up the

John Muir and William Wordsworth are great examples of this theory. Throughout their stories, both men give great insight to how the harmony of nature impacts their lives in a way that can make them forget about all the sorrow and depression they have following behind them; Wordsworth and Muir’s stories include syntax and diction to verbalize their passionate relationship towards nature. William Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” excellently shows how the power of beauty can changes one's once depressed, sad day into joy and blissfulness. In Wordsworth's story, he exploits his experience of how nature changed his mood of depression and sorrow to grateful and glee when he stumbles across a bed of beautiful golden daffodils dancing in the breeze. Wordsworth writes: “A poet could not be but gay, in such a jocund company” (stanza 3). In this passage, Wordsworth shows his change of heart when in the presence of something so beautiful and alluring. Wordsworth also shows how nature impacts his mood from the quote: “They flash upon the inward eye, and my heart with pleasure fills” (stanza 4). In this final quote, Wordsworth explains that even when he is apart from the beautiful golden daffodils, it is the memory that keeps his spirits alive. While Wordsworth's experience with nature

Both William Wordsworth and John Muir use imagery to express their relationships with nature. In paragraph two of The Calypso Borealis, Muir describes the environmental obstacles he encounters when he sets off to find the elusive flower: “fording streams more and more difficult to cross and wading bogs and swamps that seemed more and more extensive and more difficult to force one's way through.” Muir’s choice of words helps the reader imagine how difficult and harsh the environment was as

Henry David Thoreau once said, “It 's not what you look at that matters, it 's what you see.” William Wordsworth, the author of the poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, and John Muir, author of the essay The Calypso Borealis, have proved this in their works by looking at nature and portraying it differently but beautifully in each piece. They have been able to express their relationships with nature differently through choices about format, such as if a rhyme scheme will be used; their word choice, like choosing to give something a specific name; as well as through literary devices used, including tone, mood, and irony, but, even though they made many different choices, their works are both able to make nature seem beautiful and mysterious.

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, a poem that discloses the relationship between nature and human beings: how nature can affect one’s emotion and behavior with its motion and sound. The words the author adopted in this poem are interconnected and related to each other. They are simple yet profound, letting us understand how much William Wordsworth related his works to nature and the universe. It also explained to us why William Wordsworth is one of the greatest and the most influential English romantic poets in history. As Robert DiYanni says in his book, “with much of Wordsworth’s poetry, this lyric reflects his deep love of nature, his vision of a unified

Wordsworth says that, wandering like a cloud floating above the hill and valleys, he encountered a field of daffodils beside a lake, in the poem. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” A poet could not help but to be happy in such a joyful company of flowers. William stared and watched but did not realize what wealth the scene would bring him. Whenever he feels “vacant” or “pensive” the picture would flash upon “that inward eye / That is the bliss of solitude. : and his heart fills with pleasure, “and dances with the daffodils.” (Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud). Wordsworth also created songs of innocence such as “Daffodils Song”. The Romantic poets, predominantly Wordsworth and Blake were spellbound by the natural world. The author used pastoral landscapes to evoke joy, to create peaceful scenes that were only darkened by the threat of urbanization and the Industrial Revolution. (William Wordsworth: Artistic Reaction to the Industrial Revolution, Fed 14, 2000)

Hi Chour, I agree that Muir description of nature is more on his exploration and experience. Unlike Emerson, he based his description on his belief. Both of them have different ways of describing nature, but I guess they have the same aspiration of promoting the importance of nature. I also agree that nature gives us the feeling of calmness and relaxation and also edify us in different

Wordsworth sensationalizes the natural setting that he places the speaker of the poem in. The speaker sets out for a relaxing experience out in nature, but instead becomes fixated on the negative aspects of human nature. The speaker makes not of the sound of “a thousand blended notes” which have the effect of putting the speaker into a “sweet mood.” This overdose of pleasant feelings, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. More and more focused observations flood the speakers mind. Sights of “green” and “periwinkle” show how the speaker’s mind has gone into an overactive state. The speaker is overwhelmed by the setting in which they were placed, which is an intentional act on Wordsworth’s end. Wordsworth wants the intentional reader to look within themselves and experience this overwhelming state of mind in regard to the connection (or lack thereof) that they have with the

Throughout the poem, it is clear that his focus was not to merely describe, in the form of a detailed account, how he saw the daffodils and their surroundings, but to consider the ways in which they affected how he felt that day and looking back when he reflects on that experience. It has a wistful and nostalgic tone, with a strong feeling of sentiment. The poem begins with a personal feeling of solitariness and despondency with the opening line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills. "

In 1770 a historic icon was born. His name was William Wordsworth. Wordsworth lived a long and successful life which included his primary occupation as a poet. He did some things with poetry that have never been done before; such as introducing romanticism poetry. His famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" helped him become the poet laureate in 1843 which he held until his death (1850). When William Wordsworth starts to age and mature, he will then start to change his views and ways compared to when he was a hound adolescent young man.

The effects of proximity to a natural environment are shown in these poems as their speakers react to being alone. As Wordsworth revisits the banks of the Wye and becomes reacquainted with the sights of his boyhood, he remarks that the “wild secluded scene” fills

Wordsworth over emphasizes the imagery throughout the poem. The speaker makes note of how the birds “hopped and played” with “pleasure”, and how the flowers enjoy all of the air that they breathe. The apparent intentions of the natural environment are strictly pure. Wordsworth personifies these parts of nature (the flower, the birds etc.) to pull the focus onto their “actions”. The natural environment does not have ill intention in anything that it does. These overly positive “scenes” that are portrayed are what set up the intended reader to see the contradiction that Wordsworth creates. The setting of the poem is anthropomorphized, which makes it easier for the speaker to relate to their surroundings. Wordsworth also projects how he feels onto the environment with this personification as well. The poem is riddled with pathetic fallacy, and Wordsworth uses this intentionally to draw attention to the fact that human nature and the natural environment are not all that different. The speaker is careful to not make blunt statements about how the different parts of the environment feel, but instead turns to speculation. Wordsworth intentionally included this to further develop the contradiction that the speaker feels: both connected and disconnected to the natural environment.

However, he did not spend the time among nature for the notoriety, but merely because he felt at one with nature. As Muir lived among nature, he understood, through a religious scope, that all of nature, even the smallest of species, was part of God’s plan. As such, every species deserved respect. Even when he nearly died from malaria, from a nature induced illness, Muir was steadfast in his belief that humans and nature were on an equal footing, and it was mankind’s responsibility to protect nature.