Analysis of William Wordsworth—I Wandered Lonely Like a Cloud.doc

Analysis of William WordsworthI Wandered Lonely Like a CloudAbstract: the essay simply introduced William Wordsworth by talking about his early life and some assessments and some literary views about his famous poem “I Wandered Lonely Like a Cloud”. Finally, I expatiates myself views about this poem. Key Words: William Wordsworth Literature Review my review conclusion William Wordsworth was the most representative of English poet. He has great sympathy with the French Revolution. Following, I will talk about the great poet and his poem- “I Wandered Lonely Like a Cloud”, which is written in 1840. Because of remembering the beautiful scenes of daffodils and expressing the deep love of nature, he wrote this poem. I. Introduction of early life and some AssessmentsWordsworth was born in the Lake District of northern England. The natural scenery of the English lakes could terrify as well as nurture, as Wordsworth would later testify in the line I grew up fostered alike by beauty and by fear, but its generally benign aspect gave the growing boy the confidence he articulated in one of his first important poems, Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey , namely, that Nature never did betray the heart that loved her. Wordsworth moved on in 1787 to St. Johns College, Cambridge, who persuaded that he was not for that hour, nor for that place. The most important thing he did in his college years was to devote his summer vacation in 1790 to a long walking tour through revolutionary France. The three or four years that followed his return to England were the darkest of Wordsworths life. This dark period ended in 1795, when a friends legacy made possible Wordsworths reunion with his beloved sister Dorothy -and their move in 1797 to Alfoxden House. There Wordsworth became friends with a fellow poet, Coleridge, and they formed a partnership that would change both poets lives and alter the course of English poetry. Through all these years Wordsworth was assailed by vicious and tireless critical attacks by contemptuous reviewers; no great poet has ever had to endure worse. But finally, by the mid-1830s his reputation had been established with both critics and the reading public.William Wordsworth was the central figure in the English Romantic revolution in poetry. First, he formulated in his poems and his essays a new attitude toward nature. This was more than a matter of introducing nature imagery into his verse; it amounted to a fresh view of the organic relation between man and the natural world. Second, Wordsworth probed deeply into his own sensibility as he traced, in his finest poem, The Prelude, the growth of a poets mind. Third, Wordsworth placed poetry at the centre of human experience; in impassioned rhetoric he pronounced poetry to be nothing less than the first and last of all knowledge-it is as immortal as the heart of man, and he then went on to create some of the greatest English poetry of his century. II. Literature ReviewWe often go through life as if we were unconscious of what is going on around us - like clouds. We notice many things some of which are beautiful and some ordinary. But being distracted - not poets, who would naturally notice and be gay at the sight - we fail to be lifted by the simple but awesome beauty that surrounds us. William Wordsworth was not being a poet at the time and so he little thought what wealth to him the show had wrought. He was forced to try to re-experience it from memory - his inward eye - in order to fill his heart with the pleasure he missed when he actually saw the daffodils.I think what this poem expresses is this: Sometimes we have a moment where we think oh how nice. We dont understand which moments imprint themselves on our soul until one day, we close our eyes when we are feeling down, and we want a happy thought, and suddenly the perfection of that one moment comes back to us. Our subconscience recognized it for what it was, but our busy minds blinded us from seeing it until we were in a state where our soul longs for beauty or quiet or solitude, to simply be. I dont think his loneliness makes him sad. The cloud isnt sad as it wanders, it simply is. I think he is describing a moment of perfect humanity or being. A moment where you seem very close to God and are knowing the answers to life. I think that sometimes the speakers actual speech in a poem is disregarded as readers skip to the meaning of it. Like in Eliots Prufrock, its necessary to understand that its the speaker speaking to us. Instead of picking apart the glee and gaiety of the spritely flowers, I think the speaker is trying to say to us to regard beauty of its sort in a bigger view. He saw this mass of flowers as a host, not individual flowers, and was more than enthused- overpowered by it. There is no one point to the poem but to accept beauty for what it is- let beauty as a whole impress you, and dont pick it apart for understanding. And I think to attach a heavy meaning to the flowers would burden their urgent glory. Basically, Wordsworth meant that you must find a moment of holistic beauty for its own sake, not yours, and keep it for all the times when analysis of a tired life encumbers your spirit.III. My ReviewWilliam Wordsworth was the most representative of English poet. He has great sympathy with the French Revolution. Because of the bad memory, you must want to know what make me remember him with a moment. That is his most important poetry “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” which is a rather very beautiful poem. I was attracted deeply by the description of the nature and the calm feelings in this poem. Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. How beautiful! After reading the first lines, the beauty scenery appears in front of my eyes. It seems that I am standing in daffodils. On my view, it is worth to reading and reciting the esthetical poem. Because I think that the poems language is very close to our daily life. The language is oral, so its very easy to understand.To me, the poem serves as a reminder that our happiness is best served if we live our lives as poets and notice the simple beauty that nature gives us daily. Where ordinary people see flowers, the poet sees stars, dancers, happy celebrations of natures miracles and is pleasured. Live as a poet.As we all know, many rhetoric methods can be used in a poem. But Wordsworth just uses simile and repetition which can be accepted by the public. I wandered lonely as a cloud, this line uses the simile. Its rather simple to know what the poet want to express for the people who have little education.The first section of this poem mainly describes the discovery of the fields of daffodils.The second part states that how beautiful and bright the daffodils are and how large the number is. The third part says that the poet depicts the river and stream beside the fields of daffodils. All of the things are so harmonious. The last part tells that when the poet felt lonely and sad, the daffodils can let him release the unhappy feelings and can comfort him. Then the poets heart filled with happiness and j