I Wander Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

[knightss]

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

I wandered lonely as a cloud:
That floats on high over 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.
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"Words can be like x-rays, if you use them properly - they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." - Huxely

[knightss]

Feel free to answer any or all:

1) Did you enjoy this poem? Why or why not?

2) Have you ever read any other work by Wordsworth? If so, which one is your favorite?

3) Romanticism was a time when nature was viewed with reverence in post-Industrial Revolution Europe.. could Romantic art and literature be considered the first 'Green' movement?

4) Did anything in particular move you about this poem?

5) Solitude seems to be of major importance in this poem. Is there a reason for this? Is nature something that should be enjoyed by the individual?

6) Quote your favorite line(s)/stanza of the poem.


I hope you enjoyed this one =) i know i did.
_________________
"Words can be like x-rays, if you use them properly - they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." - Huxely

[Star]

Well well, where should I begin is the questions at hand=) William Wordsworth=) Just his name makes me smile=) I really love most of his work, his earliest collections, An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches, great reads=) And of course The Prelude , it is afterall the reigning crown of achievement in english romanticism=) But yeah I love him=) these are my most favorites,The Prelude, Growth of a Poet's Mind ,The Recluse,Ecclesiastical Sketches,Intimations of Immortality,Yarrow Revisited, Peter Bell. And for Prose it would be,The Love Letters of William and Mary Wordsworth=) He has an essay as well but its been awhile since I read that=/






Feel free to answer any or all:

1) Did you enjoy this poem? yes, because it lets me know its ok to be alone and you can find beauty and peace being in solitude, make sense?

2) Have you ever read any other work by Wordsworth? If so, which one is your favorite? i answered that above, but this one is my all time favorite=)

3) Romanticism was a time when nature was viewed with reverence in post-Industrial Revolution Europe.. could Romantic art and literature be considered the first 'Green' movement? oh yes! most certainly! in fact that is a great question=) i believe it was, and that Wordsworth was at the fore front, a pioneer in representing the 'Green' movement as far as literature goes.

4) Did anything in particular move you about this poem? yes, it moves me to tears at times, because it shows us there is grace in being alone, you can see sometimes more in solitude than in a crowd.

5) Solitude seems to be of major importance in this poem. Is there a reason for this? Is nature something that should be enjoyed by the individual? well i think there is little distraction when one walks in solitude, you can be more aware of your surroundings. but you can share it. but this gem helps me to be ok with solitude.

6) Quote your favorite line(s)/stanza of the poem. I wandered lonely as a cloud= pure love for the lonely and those of us that must walk or endure solitary either because of heartbreak, fear, loss. Whatever the sojourner's reason for going this path. Thank you so much for posting this=)

[KaeMartyndale]

[knightss]

hahahahahhahaha
_________________
"Words can be like x-rays, if you use them properly - they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." - Huxely

[Star]

[thisislissa]

Without a doubt the romantics were a green movement. I’ll cite another Wordsworth for my example:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

Hey, that was two birds with one stone, the above is also my favorite Wordsworth poem.

As for lonely as a cloud, I love the last stanza. Not only did he see this amazing carpet of daffodils, but he can see it again any time he likes through memory. What I find interesting though is that he finds the experience purely joyful. When I call up a memory of nature (for me its usually of being up in the mountains) I feel this terrible longing to be in that place again, rather than here in the city. The memories are always bittersweet.
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The victor belongs to the spoils.

[jtothero]

My favorite Wordsworth poem:

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seem'd a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.

No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Roll'd round in earth's diurnal course
With rocks, and stones, and trees.

[TheoGio]

Gee, kae, you had me in stitches...! What do you think Wordsworth himself would have to say about it..??!! lol
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[Kenith Jackson]

that is a pretty poem. I know I already read this poem, I just cannot remember. Did you make it or not. Well, yes or not that is a beautiful poem. Regards, Kenith, Florida Gulf Coast

[Valerie09]

1) Did you enjoy this poem?

Yes, because I like being alone sometimes.

2) Have you ever read any other work by Wordsworth?

Yes, this poem is my favorite.

3) Romanticism was a time when nature was viewed with reverence in post-Industrial Revolution Europe.. could Romantic art and literature be considered the first 'Green' movement?

Yes I believe.

4) Did anything in particular move you about this poem?

Yes, this poem moved me in a way that I realized that being alone is finding myself. Being alone allows me to think forward and brave the future.

5) Solitude seems to be of major importance in this poem. Is there a reason for this? Is nature something that should be enjoyed by the individual?

Yes, each of us should enjoy the nature. If I'm stressed out, I love being alone and be with nature. I usually go up the hill near my home and stay there, listening to the twittering of birds, staring at the flowers around me and listening to the sounds of breeze. Ahhh, solitude!

6) Quote your favorite line(s)/stanza of the poem.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud:
That floats on high over vales and hills, "

[CuppaTea]

Did you enjoy this poem? Why or why not?

I’ve loved this poem since high school when we were given a choice of memorizing it or Louis Untermeyer’s “A Winter Lyric.” I admit that I choose “A Winter Lyric” but had a crush on someone who went for Wordsworth, so remember it well. The Untermeyer is not available on the net! so will try to remember: “The winter winds were swift and stinging, the day was growing old and dark, and yet within the icy park, birds in leafless trees were singing.... Homing people stopped to stare at all the brave hearts clustered there, birds in leafless trees, and singing.” I may have taken it literally then, good poetry ages well.

Romanticism was a time when nature was viewed with reverence in post-Industrial Revolution Europe.. could Romantic art and literature be considered the first 'Green' movement? No, I think a reverence for nature can be found in earlier art and literature, we may not have to go all the way back to Chinese landscapes but that might be a good place to start.

Did anything in particular move you about this poem? He expands the definition of “company,” dancing daffodils are “jocund company,” No one is truly alone in nature?

Solitude seems to be of major importance in this poem. Is there a reason for this? Is nature something that should be enjoyed by the individual? I think many pursuits are better enjoyed alone because if Wordsworth were walking, say, with his sister, it would be a social situation less amenable to the surprise that nature gave him. I see the theme as a celebration of how quickly an ordinary day can turn to sheer joy, moods change, optimism returns. Yes, as Star says, “you can see sometimes more in solitude than in a crowd.”

Quote your favorite line(s)/stanza of the poem. “When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils.”

Good choice for a short read, thanks.

[princessp]

I loved this poem since high school when we were given a choice of memorizing it or Louis Untermeyer’s “A Winter Lyric.”

[AdamWest]

1.) Yes, yes I did

[Cliantha Doris]

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