1) The poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth describes the poet wandering and coming upon a large field of daffodils. 2) The critic argues that Wordsworth may not have actually seen the daffodils and was using them as imagery to describe a mood or feeling. 3) The critic analyzes the language in the poem and argues it is not merely describing the flowers, but conveying some deeper meaning about the poet's state of mind.

1. Daffodils
I wandered lonely as a cloud
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
(Photo credit: katerha)
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.

2. 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;

3. And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth
English: William Wordsworth by
Benjamin Robert Haydon oil on
canvas, 1842 49 in. x 39 in. (1245
mm x 991 mm) Bequeathed by John
Fisher Wordsworth, 1920 NPG 1857
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. All critics believe when they come to study this poem
that Wordsworth is describing the flowers. Conventional
criticism believe that while he was walking, he came to
a bunch of daffodils. They believe that the poem is
nothing more than a description. However, I believe that
Wordsworth did not meet the daffodils when he wrote
this poem, a good poet doesn’t need to see the daffodils
to write about them.
In his “Preface to Lyrical Ballad” he says that a poet is
not in need for external stimulus so that he could write a
poem. This means that whenever we meet a poem, we
shouldn’t understand that the poem is the product of a
certain definite occasion. Wordsworth may have seen
but also he could write the poem even if he didn’t see
the daffodils. He can write with or without a stimulus.
Seeing the daffodils or not is an external factor and
shouldn’t be considered in evaluating the poem. This has
nothing with the evaluation of the poem. The first
impression about the title is that the first lines would be

5. about the daffodils. In this case it will appear that
Wordsworth is describing the daffodils. This is not the
function of poetry because Wordsworth say that poetry
is the “Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings
recollected at tranquility”. So, the lines are not about the
daffodils, and even if they are, the poet is not
reproducing nature. The purpose of poetry is never to
imitate nature, because if it is an imitation, then it
wouldn’t be poetry according to Wordsworth. This is
what is conveyed in his preface. “Poetry has no purpose,
if there is a purpose, it should be a worthy one”. There
are two contradictory cases, either poetry has a purpose
or not. If poetry has a purpose, then Wordsworth would
be describing, but as proved in the lines, he is not
describing the flowers. The worthy purpose is not
describing the daffodils, so there is another story behind
the title.
The word “wander” denotes moving without destination.
The person who wanders doesn’t know where he is

6. going. Wordsworth was not going to look at the
daffodils. “I” is the I of the poet, there is no distance
between the poet and the “I”. The person in the poem is
the poet himself, he is not reproducing nature. The
person of the poem is lost, so the poet is placing the
poem at another level of discussion when he says that he
is lost. He is not satisfied, he is like a cloud because a
cloud doesn’t choose its direction. He is choosing
himself and another image which is the cloud that is
driven by the wind, so may the poet be driven by
something else?
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high over vales and hills , which is the
image of the cloud.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 is noted as a favourite
with Coleridge. It explores the notion that love

7. can cure all ills and make us feel good about
ourselves. It demonstrates the strong feelings
that love can inspire in us; both the good and
bad feelings.
You can read the full text to Sonnet 29 in our
collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Sonnet 29: The Facts
 Sequence: Sonnet 29 is part of the Fair Youth Sonnets
 Key Themes: Self pity, self hatred, love overcoming
feelings of self deprecation.
 Style: Sonnet 29 is written in iambic pentameter and
follows the traditional sonnet form
Sonnet 29: A Translation
The poet writes that when his reputation is in
trouble and he is failing financially; he sits alone
and feels sorry for himself. When no one,
including God will listen to his prayers he curses
his fate and feels hopeless. The poet envies

8. what others have achieved and wishes he could
be like them or have what they have:
Desiring this man’s heart and that man’s scope
However, when in the depths of his despair, if
he thinks of his love, his spirits are lifted:
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
When he thinks of his love his mood is elevated
to the heavens, he feels rich and wouldn’t
change places, even with kings:
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth
brings
That I scorn to change my state with kings.
Sonnet 29: Analysis
The poet feels awful and wretched and then
thinks about his love and feels better.

9. The sonnet is considered by many to be one of
Shakespeare’s greatest. However, the poem has
also been scorned for its lack of gloss and its
transparency. Don Paterson author ofReading
Shakespeare’s Sonnets refers to the sonnet as a
"duffer" or "fluff".
He derides Shakespeare’s use of weak
metaphors: “Like to the lark at break of day
arising/ From sullen earth...” pointing out that
the earth is only sullen to Shakespeare not to
the lark and therefore the metaphor is a poor
one. Paterson also points out that the poem
does not explain why the poet is so miserable.
It is up to the reader to decide whether this is
important or not? We can all identify with
feelings of self pity and someone or something
bringing us out of this state. As a poem, it holds
its own.
The poet demonstrates his passion, mainly for
his own self loathing. Could this be the poet
internalising his conflicting feelings towards the

10. fair youth and projecting or crediting any
feelings of self worth and self confidence onto
him ... attributing the fair youth with the ability
to affect his image of himself?