1

DAFFODILS
(POEM)
BY
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
2 ABOUT THE POET

• William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet
with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English
literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).
• William Wordsworth is also known as poet of nature.
• His poem center on the theme of natural beauty and natural scenes.
• The imagery used in the poems is visual- reader can recreate the scene in his mind as he
reads the poem.
3 WHAT IS ROMANTIC AGE

• It prized nature over the industrialized city, emotion over reason, and the individual over
institutions like the church and state.
• Romantic believed in unreal elements.
• It was a reaction to, classicism which believed in formality and framed the literature on
the previous works of ancient Greece and Rome.
4 WHAT WILL COME IN THE PAPER?

• Paraphrasing
➢ Expressing same idea using your own/ simple words.
➢ Not supposed to explain the stanza or give any other information from any other
part of the poem/ stanza.
• Questions based on a stanza
➢ 3 questions will be give relating to the stanza
❖Explanation of a line, meaning, asking for a simple answer, simile, metaphor
personification, alliteration, rhyming words from stanza or outside the text.
5 WHAT WILL COME IN THE PAPER?
(CONT..)

• Questions based on a stanza

➢ 3 questions will be give relating to the stanza (cont.. from previous slide)
❖ Answer the questions in a line or two at the most.
❖ Do not write information which is not asked for/ required.
❖ Do not reproduce the lines from the stanza.
6 ABOUT THE POEM-DAFFODILS

• The poet has taken a natural object- flower.

• The tone used in the poem is soft. (Easy vocabulary)
• The poet has used visual imagery.
• Simile along with personification has been used in the poem.
• The rhyming scheme of the poem is constant i.e. all stanzas have ABABCC rhyme
scheme.
7 DAFFODILS TEXT

STANZA 1 MEANINGS

• I wandered lonely as a cloud i. Wander: Walk without any reason

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, ii. Lonely: Alone
When all at once I saw a crowd, iii. Vales: Valleys
A host of golden daffodils;
iv. o’er: Over
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
v. Crowd: A large number of people.
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
vi. A host of: A large number of people
vii. Fluttering: A quick wavering/ flapping
movement
8 DAFFODILS TEXT
(CONT..)

STANZA 2 MEANINGS
• Continuous as the stars that shine i. Continuous: Unending
and twinkle on the Milky Way, ii. Twinkle: Shine
They stretched in never-ending line
iii. Milky Way: Galaxy that contains planets
along the margin of a bay:
iv. Margin: Edge/ Bank/ Border
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance. v. Glance: A brief / quick look
vi. Tossing: Twisting
vii. Sprightly: Energetic/ Active/ Full of life
9 DAFFODILS TEXT
(CONT..)

STANZA 3 MEANINGS
• The waves beside them danced; but i. Out-did: Superior/ Best
they ii. Sparkling: Shining/ reflecting light
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: iii. Glee: Happiness/ joy
A poet could not be but gay,
iv. Gay: Free from worries
in such a jocund company:
v. Jocund: Happy
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
vi. Company: Group
what wealth the show to me had
brought: vii. Gazed: Look for a long time
viii. Wealth: Valuable (sight)
10 DAFFODILS TEXT
(CONT..)

STANZA 4 MEANINGS
• For oft, when on my couch I lie i. Oft: Often.
In vacant or in pensive mood, ii. Pensive: Thoughtful/ Thinking about
They flash upon that inward eye something.
Which is the bliss of solitude;
iii. Mood: State of mind.
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils. iv. In word eye: In thought/ In dream
v. Bliss: Happiness
vi. Solitude: Loneliness/ Isolation/ Alone
vii. Pleasure: Joy/ Happiness
11 IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE POEM

i. The poet wanders. This shows that there is no aim of his life it is meaningless
ii. He compares himself to a lonely cloud. Clouds form a group and it is very seldom/ rare
that one see a single piece of cloud in the sky. These two points show the sad nature
of the poet.
iii. Suddenly, he looks at a large group of flowers (daffodils). This hints at something
interesting has caught his attention.
iv. The flowers are dancing in the wind.
v. The poet considers the daffodils as heavenly objects/ stars that are uncountable.
vi. He makes assumptions about their number-Ten thousand. This assumption is similar
12 IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE POEM
(CONT..)

• our assumption about the number of stars. Stars cannot be counted to the exact
number.
vii. The poet takes the flowers as supernatural beings-fairies.
viii. The flowers appear to be more happy than other natural objects around them.
ix. The flowers are carefree and express their happiness by dancing and tossing their
heads so the poet enjoys to be in their company as it makes him forget his own
worries.
x. Daffodils are a permanent source of happiness for the poet.
xi. When the poet is sad, truth reveals itself that the only thing that can bring relief to
13 IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE POEM
(CONT..)

• the sad hearts is nature/ natural beauty.

xii. Whenever the poet feels sad, he thinks about the daffodils and their carefree dance,
which make him relaxed and happy.
xiii. The poet has used simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole (magnifying
things)
14 PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM

PARAPHRASING STANZA 1 PARAPHRASING STANZA 2

• The poet says that once he was • The poet says that the daffodils were
wandering all alone just like a cloud that countless as stars which shine on the
floats over the valleys and hills. At once Milky Way and they were growing along
he saw countless golden daffodils the lake in an endless line. The poet
growing beside a lake under a tree further says that he nearly saw ten
fluttering and dancing happily in the thousand daffodils moving their heads in
breeze. a happy/ joyful dance.
15 PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM
(CONT..)

PARAPHRASING STANZA 3 PARAPHRASING STANZA 4

• The poet says that the waves of the lake • The poet says that whenever he lies on
were also dancing happily but the dance his bed in a gloomy mood or to take rest,
of the daffodils was far more superior to the reflection of the beautiful daffodils
the dance of the waves. The poet feels comes to his mind. He feels happy and
happy in joyous company of daffodils his heart begins to dance with the
and keep on seeing the golden flowers. daffodils. The poet thinks that the sight
This sight as brought him a great wealth. of the daffodils is a blessing and a
permanent source of pleasure for him.
16 THEME AND CENTRAL IDEA OF THE POEM-THE
DAFFODILS
THEME OF THE POEM CENTRAL IDEA
• The poem presents the attractiveness of • Beauty is for the admiration. Natural
natural beauty with leaves a fresh and scene is more beautiful than artificial. In
everlasting impact on human mind. this poem, the poet praise the simple
beauty of the daffodils which impresses
him in a single glimpse.
17 STANZA QUESTIONS
STANZA 1 (CONT..)
STANZA ANSWERS
• I wandered lonely as a cloud • The poet was wandering lonely like a
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, cloud/ the poet was moving aimlessly.
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils; • The poet saw a host/ large number of
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, daffodils.
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze • The daffodils had grown next to the lake
Questions: and underneath a tree.
i. What was the poet doing?
ii. What did the poet see?
iii. Where had the daffodils grown?
18 FURTHER STANZA QUESTIONS
STANZA 1 (CONT..)
• I wandered lonely as a cloud i. What were the daffodils doing?
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
ii. What simile is used in the stanza?
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils; iii. What personification is used in the
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, stanza?
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze Answers
• The daffodils dancing in the breeze.
• The poet has compared himself to a cloud.
• Daffodils are taken as a crowd and then
dancing. Both are human qualities.
19 FURTHER STANZA QUESTIONS
STANZA 1 (CONT..)
• I wandered lonely as a cloud i. What is the meaning of ‘host’?
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
ii. Write the word/ words that rhyme
When all at once I saw a crowd,
with crowd from the stanza.
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, iii. Write the words that rhyme with
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze trees.
Answers
• Many
• Cloud
• Freese, Bees Breeze (stanza)
20 FURTHER STANZA QUESTIONS
STANZA 1 (CONT..)
• I wandered lonely as a cloud i. Write the rhyming words from the
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, stanza?
When all at once I saw a crowd, ii. Write the rhyming scheme of the stanza
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, iii. Write the alliteration in the stanza.
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze Answers
• Cloud and Crowd/ Hills and Daffodils/
Trees and Breeze
• ABABCC
❑Write the metaphor used in the poem.
• /h/ and /b/ sound is alliterated in the
• Golden daffodils. stanza.
21 TASK

• Read the slides carefully and attempt the assignment.