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Nature in Wordsworth i wandered lonely as a cloud
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William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” are intriguingly different poems that both use symbolism, similes, imagery, and metaphors as ways of expressing emotions and attitudes towards life. Although the two pieces of literature portray vastly different feelings, Wordsworth and Arnold both use nature to elucidate the speaker’s outlook. Interestingly enough, Matthew Arnold was a big fan of William Wordsworth’s work, which is most likely why his poetry is so similar to Wordsworth's. Even though Wordsworth is a poet from the Romantic Period and Arnold one from the Victorian, the two share a simplistic style of writing as well as a unique ability to capture the reader’s imagination through deep naturalistic comparisons.
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” enables the reader to take part in a form of spiritual splendor that accompanies nature, more specifically daffodils, previously felt by Wordsworth. The poem truly begins when Wordsworth comes across a field of daffodils after walking along the coast. The daffodils keep the speaker comp...
...here are similar aspects to each writer's experience. Engaging the imagination, Ramond, Wordsworth and Shelley have experienced a kind of unity; conscious of the self as the soul they are simultaneously aware of 'freedoms of other men'. I suggested in the introduction that the imagination is a transition place wherein words often fail but the experience is intensified, even understood by the traveler. For all three writers the nature of the imagination has, amazingly, been communicable. Ramond and Wordsworth are able to come to an articulate conclusion about the effects imagination has on their perceptions of nature. Shelley, however, remains skeptical about the power of the imaginative process. Nonetheless, Shelley's experience is as real, as intense as that of Ramond and Wordsworth.
Wordsworth said in his poem Wandered Lonely like a Cloud that he was lonely when he was walking and found the daffodils dancing very joyfully with the wind. We know this when his poem said,”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.” Although he was feeling very lonely, The flowers seemed to bring joy to him. Muir expresses this when he says,“For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or 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
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” (John Muir). Both John Muir and William Wordsworth demonstrate this through their use of language as they describe nature scenes. John Muir studies nature and in his essay about locating the Calypso Borealis he uses scientific descriptions to grab his reader’s attention and to portray his excitement at finding the rare flower. William Wordsworth on the other hand shows his appreciation for the beauty of nature and its effect on a person’s emotions in the vivid visual descriptions that he gives of the daffodils in his poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.’ Wordsworth with his appreciation of beauty and Muir through scientific descriptions provide an indication of the influence that nature has had on them as they capture their reader’s attention both emotionally and visually through their personal and unique use of tone, diction, syntax and vocabulary.
Wordsworth desires nature only because of his separateness, and the more isolated he feels the mor...
The entire poem is about the interaction between nature and man. Wordsworth is clearly not happy about the things that man has done to the world. He describes Nature in detail in the second and third stanzas when he personifies the periwinkle and the flowers. He is thinking about the bad things that man has done to nature and he wants the reader to sit back and think about the fact that there used to be something so beautiful and alive, and because of man's ignorance and impatience, there is not a lot left. He also wants him to go sit in his own grove and actually see what is living and breathing and whether or not he enjoys it. Wordsworth makes it seem appealing to want to go and do this through his descriptions and thoughts, so that you get a feeling of what is there and what is being lost. He makes the reader want to go and see if those things, the budding twigs, the hopping birds, and the trailing periwinkle, really do exist and if they really are as alive as he says.
Unlike her brother, Dorothy seems to be less solitary in her experiences, her accounts of what happened and who was with her are less personal than William’s. Dorothy tends to include everyone who surrounded her at that point and time – ‘We [Dorothy and her brother William] were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park’ – whereas William makes it a companionless experience, he forgets everyone that may have been sharing the moment with him – ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ . This, in conjunction with the use of imagery, similes and personification, not only makes William’s poems more accessible to a wide range of readers but it also adds character and personality, whereas Dorothy’s journal tends to be more reserved and closed to interpretation. Although both use semantic field of nature, William’s use is more affective as it conveys emotion, passion and attachment to his work.
...s' poems and interpret his thoughts and imagination. Comparing Autumn's winnowing hair to a billowing cloud of straw, although it makes for an interesting picture inside a reader's head, is not something that my brain associates with nature. It was this kind of comparison to nature, and Keats awkward use of personification that made me relate and like Wordsworth's poem better. Wordsworth, like any other good poet was able transform ordinary life into art. A process of interpreting what he saw, shaping, and ordering took place between the time that he observed the daffodils and the finished poem. Wordsworth made it possible for the reader to see the daffodils in a new way that did not require an awkward use of language. It also provided a setting that was not only enjoyable to read, but left the reader a newfound appreciation of nature that Wordsworth showed us.
and in? The Ancient Mariner? , we see that Coleridge shows the struggle against the overwhelming forces of nature. It is an important theme for the Romantic poets. Another difference between the two poets is that Wordsworth deals with everyday people from small villages, and while reading the words, I felt as if it was not a poem at all, but a story being told.
...ty of the daffodils. The powerful effect that they have on his mind and body snap him out of depression and cause him to experience such a strong and powerful joy. This poem shows the powerful affect nature can have on the emotions of a person.
Throughout the poem, the poet presents an overall meaning. The main meaning is that nature can bring happiness when it’s needed and that its beauty should be appreciated. The speaker of this poem makes a heaven out of a windy day and a bunch of daffodils. When he felt lonely, the daffodils around him, gave him a boost of joy. The poet is implying that people have become blind to the beauty of nature that is easily accessed, which is why he focused on the visual descriptions of the daffodils. Wordsworth wanted to emphasize the importance of
An Analysis of Dover Beach Dover Beach intrigued me as soon as I read the title. I have a great love of beaches, so I feel a connection with the speaker as he or she stands on the cliffs of Dover, looking out at the sea and reflecting on life. Arnold successfully captures the mystical beauty of the ocean as it echoes human existence and the struggles of life. The moods of the speaker throughout the poem change dramatically, as do the moods of the sea. The irregular, undesirable rhyme is representative of these inharmonious moods and struggles.
In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth accomplishes his ideal of nature by using personification, alliteration, and simile within his poem to convey to the reader how nature’s beauty uplifts his spirits and takes him away from his boring daily routine. Wordsworth relates himself in solidarity to that of a cloud wandering alone, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1). Comparing the cloud and himself to that of a lonely human in low spirits of isolation, simultaneously the author compares the daffodils he comes across as he “floats on high o’er vales and hills” (line 2) to that of a crowd of people dancing (lines 3-6 and again in 12). Watching and admiring the dancing daffodils as he floats on by relating them to various beauties of
In "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," William Wordsworth explains the impact of Nature from Tintern Abbey in his every day life. "Tintern Abbey" shows the great importance of nature to Wordsworth in his writings, love for life, and religion. The memories he has of Tintern Abbey make even the darkest days full of light.
The poems, “Above Tintern Abbey” and “Intimations of Immortality written by the poet, William Wordsworth, pertain to a common theme of natural beauty. Relaying his history and inspirations within his works, Wordsworth reflects these events in each poem. The recurring theme of natural beauty is analogous to his experiences and travels.
His poem recognizes the ordinary and turns it into a spectacular recollection, whose ordinary characteristics are his principal models for Nature. As Geoffrey H. Hartman notes in his “Wordsworth’s poetry 1787-1814”, “Anything in nature stirs [Wordsworth] and renews in turn his sense of nature” (Hartman 29). “The Poetry of William Wordsworth” recalls a quote from the Prelude to Wordsworth’s 1802 edition of Lyrical ballads where they said “[he] believed his fellow poets should "choose incidents and situations from common life and to relate or describe them.in a selection of language really used by men” (Poetry). In the shallowest sense, Wordsworth is using his view of the Tintern Abbey as a platform or recollection, however, this ordinary act of recollection stirs within him a deeper understanding.