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Poetry Analysis : Dancing With Daffodils

Decent Essays

M. Andrew Alvey
English 200 - 704
Dr. Weixel
10/25/17
Poetry Analysis
Dancing with Daffodils
Loneliness. Everyone in existence knows how this feels. If you are human, you have experienced some type of exclusion. William Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” gives almost a whimsical feel to being isolated. The poem begins with the line, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1) as if there was no set purpose of the speaker. The sentiment is nearly in a fantasy-like state. The poem begins with the speaker feeling lonely, isolated and detached from the world. But throughout the poem, the speaker talks about the beauty of nature. In an unforced manner, nature gives him joy. The poem is surrounded by figurative language. The …show more content…

This gives the reader a sense that the speaker is sad and isolated. The line, “When all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3) is the first true introduction to personification. The speaker is actually talking about daffodils. His emotion at this point is unclear. He is just observing what he is seeing. Wordsworth, then mentions the location of the daffodils, which shows how he has connected to nature. Personification continues as the daffodils began “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6). Flowers move and sway as the wind blows. The speaker chooses to personify the flowers by giving their movement meaning. The flowers are “happy”. They flutter and dance. Joy seems to surface. The lonely mood the speaker once endured has changed to being amused. Wordsworth continues figurative language, using personification with the following stanza. Though, he makes a change of connection. Previously he had a connection to nature. He is now relating to space. These both have to do with the sciences of creation. He uses the words “star” and “milky way” to represent the galaxy or space. “Continuous as the stars that shine” (line 7), Wordsworth compares the amount of flowers to the depth of stars in the sky. He also uses alliteration for expression, by using “stars that shine”. Personification displays itself once again by the portrayal of the flowers stretching. “They stretched in never-ending line/ Along the margin of the bay” (lines 9-10).

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