Understanding the Romantic Poem 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth, Summaries of Dance

Download Understanding the Romantic Poem 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth and more Summaries Dance in PDF only on Docsity! DAFFODILS (POEM) BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH UNIT 5 By Shahzad Ali Khan 1 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. 2 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. 5 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. 6 DAFFODILS TEXT STANZA 1 • 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. MEANINGS i. Wander: Walk without any reason ii. Lonely: Alone iii. Vales: Valleys iv. o’er: Over v. Crowd: A large number of people. vi. A host of: A large number of people vii. Fluttering: A quick wavering/ flapping movement 7 DAFFODILS TEXT (CONT..) • 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. MEANINGS i. Oft: Often. ii. Pensive: Thoughtful/ Thinking about something. iii. Mood: State of mind. iv. In word eye: In thought/ In dream v. Bliss: Happiness vi. Solitude: Loneliness/ Isolation/ Alone vii. Pleasure: Joy/ Happiness STANZA 4 10 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 11 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 12 PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM (CONT..) PARAPHRASING STANZA 3 • The poet says that the waves of the lake were also dancing happily but the dance of the daffodils was far more superior to the dance of the waves. The poet feels happy in joyous company of daffodils and keep on seeing the golden flowers. This sight as brought him a great wealth. PARAPHRASING STANZA 4 • The poet says that whenever he lies on his bed in a gloomy mood or to take rest, the reflection of the beautiful daffodils comes to his mind. He feels happy and his heart begins to dance with the daffodils. The poet thinks that the sight of the daffodils is a blessing and a permanent source of pleasure for him. 15 THEME AND CENTRAL IDEA OF THE POEM-THE DAFFODILS THEME OF THE POEM • The poem presents the attractiveness of natural beauty with leaves a fresh and everlasting impact on human mind. CENTRAL IDEA • Beauty is for the admiration. Natural scene is more beautiful than artificial. In this poem, the poet praise the simple beauty of the daffodils which impresses him in a single glimpse. 16 STANZA QUESTIONS STANZA 1 (CONT..) STANZA • 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 Questions: i. What was the poet doing? ii. What did the poet see? iii. Where had the daffodils grown? ANSWERS • The poet was wandering lonely like a cloud/ the poet was moving aimlessly. • The poet saw a host/ large number of daffodils. • The daffodils had grown next to the lake and underneath a tree. 17 FURTHER STANZA QUESTIONS STANZA 1 (CONT..) • 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 ❑Write the metaphor used in the poem. • Golden daffodils. i. Write the rhyming words from the stanza? ii. Write the rhyming scheme of the stanza iii. Write the alliteration in the stanza. Answers • Cloud and Crowd/ Hills and Daffodils/ Trees and Breeze • ABABCC • /h/ and /b/ sound is alliterated in the stanza. 20 TASK • Read the slides carefully and attempt the assignment. 21