“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?
2. To what are the daffodils compared in stanza 2? How does the sight of the
daffodils affect the speaker?
3. 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.
4. How are natural scenes like the one presented in this poem valuable?
5. Have you ever made an observation that caused you to feel the type of
connection to nature that the speaker feels? Explain your answer.
6. 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?
7. 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.
2. 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.