“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth

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

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

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.

Name______Date______Period____

Discussion Questions

Directions: Read each question carefully. Using complete sentences, answer each question with a logical response. Refer to the poem and your notes as needed.

  1. Why did this experience create such a strong impression in Wordsworth’s memory?
  1. To what are the daffodils compared in stanza 2? How does the sight of the daffodils affect the speaker?
  1. What does the speaker say happens when he is alone in a “pensive mood”? What “wealth” do memories of the scene give him? Explain your response.
  1. How are natural scenes like the one presented in this poem valuable?
  1. Have you ever made an observation that caused you to feel the type of connection to nature that the speaker feels? Explain your answer.
  1. Identify the rhyme scheme. What happens in the rhyme scheme to set off the final two lines of each stanza? How does the setting off the final two lines of each stanza reinforce the meaning?
  1. What mood or feeling is set by the title? Is the simile in the poem an effective one? Explain your response.

Homework

Wordsworth says that “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes is origin from emotion recollected in tranquility…”

  1. He, also, believed that nature and human intuition impart a kind of knowledge and wisdom not found in books and formal education…Do you agree or disagree? Explain your response.
  1. Write a short poem focusing on a natural wonder—a flower, a mountain, a waterfall, a violent storm, an animal, or a solar or lunar eclipse---that impressed you.

Note: The poem must consist of 4 stanzas; you may adhere to the rhyme scheme found in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” or write in free verse.