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Unit 9: Daffodils by William Wordsworth

We know that the speaker is a poet because he tells us so in line 15. As we can judge by the first Notes
2 lines, he is a typical romantic character, a lonely sensitive observer. He has a rich imagination,
as he creates the image of dancing people around him out of the field with flowers. He speaks in
the third person, but we know that he speaks about himself.
The tone of the poem is dynamic, it changes throughout the poem. We can observe it considering
the plot structure.

Poetic Devices and Figures of Speech Used

In the first line, the poet has used the simile ‘lonely as a cloud’. He has compared himself to a
solitary cloud. Just like a cloud floats over hills and valleys ( line 2), the poet too has been
rambling across the countryside.
Wordsworth has used the phrase ‘a crowd’ (line 3) followed by the phrase ‘a host’ (line 4) when
he has referred to the daffodils. Both these phrases refer to the large number of daffodils and
using them both one after the other lays stress on the enormous number of daffodils.
In line 5, alliteration has been used with the help of the words ‘beside’ and ‘beneath’

This line also determines the location of the daffodils.
In line 6, He has used personification by using the word ‘dancing’ thus attributing to the daffodils,
a quality which is generally associated with humans.

In lines 7, 8, 9 the poet has compared the unending line of daffodils to the continuous shining
stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
In line 7, alliteration has been used (‘stars’, ‘shine’)

Line 10 further describes how the daffodils are lined up along the bank of the bay. Here ‘margin’
refers to the bank of the bay.
In line11, William Wordsworth has tried to quantify the amount of daffodils by using the phrase
‘ten thousand’. It does not mean that there were literally ten thousand daffodils. Wordsworth
simply wanted to create a sense of the large number of daffodils that he came across. Hence he
used a hyperbole (‘ten thousand’) which is a figure of speech used for exaggeration and effect.
In line 12, personification (‘tossing their heads’ and ‘sprightly dance’) has been used. The poet
has tried to describe the way the daffodils were bobbing about, using these two phrases.
The poet has referred to the waves in the nearby bay (line 13). Personification has been used
here by using the term ‘dancing’ with reference to the waves. But he has concluded that the
waves of the rippling daffodils outshone the waves in the water (line14).Here, ‘they’ refer to the
daffodils. The waves in the bay are called ‘sparkling’ to describe the reflection of sunlight on
them.
In lines 15 and 16, Wordsworth has remarked, that a poet could not help being happy in such a
cheerful company. By referring to the daffodils as ‘jocund company’ he has used personification.
By using the phrase ‘I gazed’ twice (line 17), the poet has emphasized on the fact that he spent a
lot of time viewing the daffodils. Here repetition is used. But at the same time, he has admitted
that he did not understand the true value of that beautiful sight at that time (lines 17 and 18). In
line 18, alliteration has been used (‘what wealth’)

In lines 19 and 20, the poet has remarked upon those times when he is lying on his couch in a
dejected mood.
At times like these, the images of the daffodils flash in his mind (line 21).

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