Interpretation of “Daffodils“
The poem “Daffodils” written by William Wordsworth consists of four stanzas of equal length. Each stanza contains six lines. In each stanza the first four lines contain a cross rhyme (ABAB), while each fifth and sixth line contain a pair rhyme (CC).
Wordsworth’s poem deals with the beauty of nature.
He describes a poet’s intense experience of nature by wandering in the open countryside.
In the first stanza the lyrical I describes his walk, when he suddenly discovered a group of “golden daffodils” close to a lake. The second and third stanza continue with a description of the daffodils, whereas the third stanza also deals with the feelings and thoughts which are risen in him by the flowers. The last stanza concentrates on the poet’s reminiscences of his experience and the positive emotions he connects with them.
In the beginning, the poet is in a very sad mood. In the first line the author uses a comparison to express this: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”.
A cloud is a shape consisting of no solitude substance and flying miles above the earth.
This suggests that the poet is wandering in absolutely solitude, detached from the world or reality without structured thoughts.
The description of the surroundings (vales and hills) creates a peaceful and a nearly melancholic atmosphere.
The peacefulness of the first and second line of the first stanza is interrupted by the group of daffodils the poet beholds immediately next to the lake.
Besides the beauty of nature, the time of the “Romantic Revolt” was also dominated by literary treasures of Greece. In Greek mythology the daffodils were associated with the death and the underworld. According to the saga, they grow on the waterside of the river Acheron, over which the souls of the dead were ferried by Charon. The flowers shall “delight” the dead. Therefore, they also were/are planted on graves.
In line six, twelve and thirteen they are “dancing in the breeze”. This creates a jocund mood, which is a sharp contrast to the sad mood of the poet and the reason for the twist of his emotions. So, they give hope to the lonely poet and delight him, too.
“Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way, they stretch’d in never-ending line along the margin of a bay” (l.7-10). In the beginning of the second stanza William Wordsworth compares the daffodils with continuously shining stars which symbolises eternity. The “never-ending line” repeats and emphasizes this point consequently.
In the third stanza the twist of the poet’s emotions entirely become evident. The flowers which symbolizes hope and glee, overtrump the waves that stand for the “negative energy” surrounding him. Thereupon he recognizes that he “[cannot] but be gay” (l.15).
(Besides, in line fifteen the reader finds out that the lyrical I is a poet.)
He seems to be very fascinated and astonished by the sight of the daffodils:
He “gazed-and gazed-but little thought”.
The last line of the third stanza introduces the fourth stanza. The lyrical I tells the reader about his thoughts in these recurring moments that are characterized by "solitude" (l.22) and lethargic motionlessness ("when on my couch I lie", l.19) - he is overcome by that same melancholy feeling and lacking in drive which marked the beginning of the poem. And when his mood is the same as in the moment he saw the daffodils, they would emerge again as well.
They give him hope again and delight him in situations of solitude.
The poem can be divided into two parts: The first three stanzas might build the first one which mainly focuses on the poet’s experience of nature and the description of the flowers.
The second one might consists of the last stanza. It contains the poet’s memories of the daffodils and the remedy they bring to him.
“Daffodils” is a typical poem of the time of the “Romantic Revolt”. William Wordsworth integrates the conceivability of this century (return to nature, “back to the roots”) and dissociated from the classical ideal of form of the “Age of Rules and Reasons”.