In a nutshell

William Wordsworth was an English poet from the 18th century known for writing about the relation of the human being with nature. He was part of the first generation of poets of the Romanticism movement.

The Author's Life

William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland (currently called Cumbria) in 1770. He attended St John's College, Cambridge and in 1790 he went on a walking tour of Europe and visited France, Switzerland, and Italy. He had high hopes for Revolutionary France and democratic ideals to make a fairer and new social order.

In 1791, he returned to France and established a relationship with Annette Vallon, which gave birth to a daughter named Caroline. In 1795, he was obliged to return to England due to the Revolution and the war between England and France. He lived with his sister Dorothy in Dorset and during those years he developed a great connection with nature as a comfort for his despair and disappointment. His sister was of great support for his life and poetry, she even recorded their lives in her Journals.

In the same year, he moved out to Somerset where he was near Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Their friendship was of significant importance to Romantic poetry: they wrote a collection of poems called Lyrical Ballads, published anonymously in 1798; the second edition in 1800 included Wordsworth's Preface, which was to become the Manifesto of English Romanticism.

In 1843 he was made Poet Laureate, in the last years of his life he continued to write poems even if most of his interests had taken a conservative and political twist. William Wordsworth died in England in 1850.

Main Topics

Wordsworth wrote about different topics such as childhood, senses, the human mind, and the influence of nature. Though, his predominant topic was nature.

NATURE

The relationship between man and the natural world was a key element in Wordsworth's poetry. He explored the intrinsic interaction between human consciousness and the proximity to nature. This was based purely on contact and the sensation, emotions, or influence that nature could evoke in an individual.

SENSES

Nature plays a part in the human senses, Wordsworth mainly focused on senses such as vision and audition. For example, the sounds of the winds or running water, the perception of a beautiful view, and the silence of a hidden place, among others. On the other hand, sensations of other kinds led him to specific thoughts that later would become complex ideas developed in his work.

Poems, in two volumes

Poems, in two volumes was one of the most famous works of William Wordsworth. It contains many memorable poems such as Resolution and Independence, My Heart Leaps Up, Elegiac Stanzas, and I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, also known as Daffodils.

DAFFODILS

This poem is based on the experience of Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy during a walk near home in the Lake District. This is one of his signature poems, it was originally named I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, however, it is also known as The Daffodils.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats' on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils:

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company;

I gazed - and gazed- but little thought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

(Wordsworth W.)

In this poem, the speaker describes how wandering like a cloud he encounters a field of daffodils beside a lake. The poem illustrates how a poet cannot avoid feeling happy in such a beautiful and joyful company of flowers. Also, how for now, every time he feels 'pensive' or 'vacant' the memory of the daffodils will fill his heart with joy.

FIRST STANZA

In the first stanza, the poet compares himself to a cloud who wanders above hills and valleys, this represents a feeling of solitude and loneliness. Passing through the field across the lake, he encounters a cluster of bright golden daffodils moving for the breeze.

SECOND STANZA

In this stanza, Wordsworth compares the flowers to the shining stars. He describes the resemblance of the daffodils to the milky way, and how the way they moved seemed they were dancing.

THIRD STANZA

In the third stanza, the poet describes how the daffodils make him feel. He expresses that he could not take his eyes off the beauty of the flowers dancing. He says A poet could not be gay, In such a jocund company, which means a poet could not help feeling happy and joyful with the company of the daffodils.

FOURTH STANZA

In the fourth stanza, the poet speaks about the feeling he has whenever he thinks of the daffodils. He explains that when he feels down, lonely or pensive; the memory of the daffodils will fill his heart with joy.