Student : NGUYEN THI HUE Class : 08CNA07

Romanticism and the Beauty of Nature in the Poem The Daffodils by William Wordsworth
The literary and artistic movement known as Romanticism originated and developed fully in England in 1798. Wordsworth (1770-1850) was one of central writers of the Romantic Movement in the Victorian era (also called English Romanticism). The Daffodils by William Wordsworth is a distinctively Romantic poem. But what makes it romantic? The poem is full of key Romantic features in its form, language and theme. So I am going to go through a little bit about Romanticism in the poems form, language, themes as well as a vivid natural picture painted by William in next following parts. The Daffodils has a fairly simple form that fits its common and folksy theme and language. It consists of four stanzas with six lines each, for a total of 24 lines. The stanzas of the poem are of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme. The rhyme scheme is also simple: ababcc. Here's the second stanza with the rhyme scheme as above: Continuous as the stars that shine (a) And twinkle on the milky way, (b) That stretchd in never-ending line (a) Along the margin of a bay (b) Ten thousand saw I at a glance, (c) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. (c) The last two lines of each stanza rhyme like the end of a Shakespeare sonnet, for example: in Sonnet 116 If this be error, and upon me proved; I never writ, nor no man ever loved or Sonnet 18:So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. This is called a rhyming couplet. The meter is iambic tetrameter, which just means that each line has four iambs. An iamb is a short, unaccented syllable followed by a longer, accented syllable. Below is an example. We broke up each of the iambs and put the accented syllables in bold font. I wan|-derd lone| -ly as | a cloud That floats | on high | oer vales | and hills. Or some other lines: The waves|-beside|-them danced,|-but they Outdid| -the sparkl| -ing waves| -in glee. They flash|-upon|-that in|-ward eye Which is|-the bliss|-of so| -litude The meter is regular and consistent. All in all, the poem is tidy and orderly. When reading the poem with such special rhythm, we feel it as a song having music behind the words. In terms of the poems language, we will consider the use of words and some typical literary devices used in this poem. The simplicity of words used and ease of understanding the poem are two key features of The Daffodils. 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 Apart from a few words which might not be used that often, such as sprightly (lively), jocund (cheerful), etc, the words used in The Daffodils are quite simple and are used regularly. The poem uses descriptive language throughout the stanzas. The wording is simple and melodious. The simplicity in language is also visible in other poems by William Wordsworth such as The Solitary Reaper:

Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! Reaping and singing by herself Stop here, or gently pass! We can visualize the natures picture with ease while reading the poem. It is easy to imagine Nature perfect image the poet showed behind words. Some of these images are: a cloud passing over hills and valleys, yellow daffodils tossing in the breeze, a never-ending field of daffodils, a large blue lake, etc. What picturesque scenery is! Another thing about The Daffodils is that the thoughts and ideas expressed by William Wordsworth are easy to follow and understand. This has helped us to enjoy the poem wholeheartedly. In the description of the daffodils, William used quite a lot of literary devices and it was these figures that helped us understand more about the vivid picture he draw and the way he connected with the Nature. At the beginning of the poem, we come across the similarity between a wandering traveler and a floating cloud through the first line: I wanderd lonely as a cloud. The poet doesnt know where he is going and the lone cloud is too. A person doesnt determine exactly his destination. And to many people, it maybe seems quite romantic. What do you think about his feelings in this time? He would feel sad, sorrowful and lonely. He went anywhere with no purpose. The use of similarity also is in other lines: Continuous as the stars that shine; And twinkle on the Milky way. Daffodil flowers are regarded as twinkle stars in the dark sky, a countless daffodil field with yellow color, a vivid picture conjured up the stars above and the star below (daffodils). In addition, personification method is also used in the poem. The Daffodils, the central symbol of the poem are personified, given human qualities Fluttering and dancing in the breeze and are what the poet sees as he walks. The daffodils Out do the Waves that also dance, as conveyed in the fifth stanza, coupled with the clouds are all nature personified, that the Victorian romantic poets were fascinated with.We can catch the device in some below lines: Fluttering and dancing in the breeze Tossing their heads in sprightly dance And: And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils Overstatement method Ten thousand saw I at a glance. Repetition I gazed-and gazed-but little thought. Inversion My heart with pleasure fills. The Stars that shine and Twinkle on the milky way supports the metaphor of the Stars and their action in the night sky. Wordsworth believed that Nature (daffodils in this case) has its soul. The writer enjoyed the beauty of the daffodils with both his eyes and his heart. the daffodils was written in 1804,after 2 years he was on a walk with his sister through the wood and he catch golden daffodil flowers there. The daffodils beauty still haunted William they flash upon that inward eye. The heavens and the elements of nature is the key themes the Victorian Romantic poets were fascinated by, and links to the ideals of romanticism. The shortening of Oer from Over is a syntactical feature of language the Romantic poets used a lot and gives it an olden Romantic quality as you read out loud on high oer vales and hills. Another interesting aspect of the poem is the subject itself. The choice of subject is simple yet the effect of the poem is extraordinary. The sight of countless daffodils is impressive. The title Daffodils is a simple word that reminds us about the arrival of the spring season, when the field is full of daffodils. Daffodils are yellow flowers, having an amazing shape and beautiful fragrance. The theme of the poem 'Daffodils' is a collection of human emotions inspired by nature that we may have neglected due to our busy lives. The arrival of daffodils in the month of March is welcome and an enjoyable time to appreciate them! Romanticism focuses on Nature: a place free from society's judgement and restrictions. Nature and love were a major theme of Romanticism in18th and 19th century. Wordsworth was a worshipper of Nature and this poem captures the natural beauty of the daffodils on the lake shore: "golden daffodils". The poets emotion has changes from the feeling of the solitude at the beginning to the excitement at the end. The poet feels happy and pleasant in the meanwhile to see golden flowers smiling in the sunshine.

He put his loneliness aside and mingled with the beautiful sight. So Nature has a positive impact on the Mans feeling. This poem helps us get into our head how much love and admiration William gives to Nature. He would like to call us to come back to the nature and enjoy it. English Romanticism is a revolt of the English imagination against the neoclassical reason. The key words of English Romanticism are nature and imagination. Wordsworth is the representative poet of English romanticism. The Daffodils is one of Wordsworths typical poems and it is also one of the most popular poems of the Romantic Age, unfolding the poets excitement, love and praise for a field blossoming with daffodils. Romantic elements are expressing impressively throughout the poets form, language and theme. References: http://www.shmoop.com/wandered-lonely-cloud-daffodils/rhyme-form-meter.html http://www.bukisa.com/articles/384573_discussing-the-daffodils-by-william-wordsworth http://storynory.com/2011/04/08/romanticism-and-the-daffodils/