Unforgettable Joy Analysis

784 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on romantic literature

Unforgettably Joyful
Two brilliant Romantic literary works by William Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations of Immorality from Recollections of Early Childhood and I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, express in captivating detail the unforgettable joy one experiences in their lifetime. This joy can never be erased from memory, nor destroyed by present or future evils. The joy communicated in these stories conveys a sense of peaceful bliss that gives the reader a sense of inner harmony in the speaker’s soul. This peaceful certainty makes the reader believe that the speaker is content in his inner being in whatever may happen, for the joy he has found can never be taken from him. And though his memory is calloused with the pain and sufferings experienced on Earth, the delight that he had once experienced overshadows the darkness so that what shines within him is unforgettable joy!
Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud begins by telling of a lonely walk beside a lake when as a glorious revelation is seen- “a host of golden daffodils” appears and “fluttered and danced in the breeze” (William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud). Wordsworth describes the daffodils to be exceedingly gleeful, so much that they outshine the “sparkling waves” (William Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud). The speaker cannot help but take
Wilson2
in and possess this same joy in which the tranquil daffodils display. The speaker explains that at the time of first sight of the daffodils he knows not what wealth their encounter has blessed him with. He later relates on how he often reflects and reminisces on the joy those simple yellow flowers gave him and at those moments he is again filled with that joy. This memory allows the speaker to look past and eve...

... middle of paper ...

...come them. It is in that time when joy is resurfaced in their hearts that they are overwhelmed by the peace that joy brings! In these literature pieces, the wealth gained by the familiarity of life accompanied by joy is worth more than anything else imaginable. Wordsworth’s final statement in Intimations of Immorality is this: “Thanks to the human heart by which we live, thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears, to me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears” (William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immorality). Throughout one’s life (as explained in both of these works) pain, suffering, and hardship will always be close at hand, nonetheless fret not! For the glories and beauty of the Earth endowed by heaven shall
Wilson4
always prevail! Allowing any person that does so chooses to live a life that is unforgettably joyful.

Show More
Related

  • Tone and Diction in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and T.S. Eliot’s Poem, The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each literary work portrays something different, leaving a unique impression on all who read that piece of writing. Some poems or stories make one feel happy, while others are more solemn. This has very much to do with what the author is talking about in his or her writing, leaving a bit of their heart and soul in the work. F. Scott Fitzgerald, when writing The Great Gatsby, wrote about the real world, yet he didn’t paint a rosy picture for the reader. The same can be said about T.S. Eliot, whose poem “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock,” presents his interpretation of hell. Both pieces of writing have many similarities, but the most similar of them all is the tone of each one.

    Read More

  • Cold Mountain Essay

    3131 Words  | 7 Pages

    (ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small

    Read More

  • The Poet With His Face In His Hands By Mary Oliver Analysis

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, Oliver’s incorporation of imagery, setting, and mood to control the perspective of her own poem, as well as to further build the contrast she establishes through the speaker, serves a critical role in creating the lesson of the work. Oliver’s poem essentially gives the poet an ultimatum; either he can go to the “cave behind all that / jubilation” (10-11) produced by a waterfall to “drip with despair” (14) without disturbing the world with his misery, or, instead, he can mimic the thrush who sings its poetry from a “green branch” (15) on which the “passing foil of the water” (16) gently brushes its feathers. The contrast between these two images is quite pronounced, and the intention of such description is to persuade the audience by setting their mood towards the two poets to match that of the speaker. The most apparent difference between these two depictions is the gracelessness of the first versus the gracefulness of the second. Within the poem’s content, the setting has been skillfully intertwined with both imagery and mood to create an understanding of the two poets, whose surroundings characterize them. The poet stands alone in a cave “to cry aloud for [his] / mistakes” while the thrush shares its beautiful and lovely music with the world (1-2). As such, the overall function of these three elements within the poem is to portray the

    Read More

  • Joy Harjo Analysis

    207 Words  | 1 Pages

    Reading Joy Harjo's poem was a very emotional experience for me. To me, it was about a woman who was trying to build a life for herself, but it was falling flat. Her dreams were not coming true, and she had come to a point where she had to decide whether to kill herself and end her misery, or pull herself up and begin again, continue living through her shattered expectations. Without getting into personal details, this poem pierced me through the heart. The ambiguous ending drives the point home that there's always a choice. There are always people who want to bring you down, but there are also always people who would support you. The choice lies in the hands of the woman who is dangling.

    Read More

  • The Shadow on the Stone by Hardy

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    This poem manages to reach out on a personal level even though the method is transparent which validates the authenticity of Hardy’s poetic skill. He builds an image through the use of simple poetic devices to lull the reader into an easy read and proceeds to squeeze the reader’s sore spots to capture their attention. Hardy’s poem reads in the same manner it must have been written, in self loathing. Hardy was a tragic figure living within a tragic poem, this work accurately portrays Hardy in his futile attempt to understand and deal with the unavoidable trials of his life. He uses this struggle as a common thread to effectively tie his audience together, capturing the readers as they marinade in one of the defining qualities of life: regret.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Works Of Wordsworth And Muir

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    Wordsworth also states “A poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company”. This is an example of word choice. Using words such as “gay” and “jocund” express how much he treasured nature. Also, by describing the flowers in human terms, such as dancing, he shows how wonderful flowers, or just nature in general, can

    Read More

  • Lines Written in the Early Spring, by William Wordsworth

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • William Wordsworth and the Mortality of the Imagination

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of our greatest fears is the fear of death. Immortality is something any of us would take in a heartbeat, so we do not have to face death. But this is something that we cannot run away from. Mortality is an unpleasant thought that sits in the back of our minds form our day to day lives. Yet, this fear is something that is developed more over time as we grow older. Children believe that the world is such a wonderful place, they fell invincible. They also have wonderful creative skills and imaginations which is often revealed to us when they can play one game for hours at one time. Yet, as a child ages, this imagination and creativity can disappear. This is what William Wordsworth is terrified of. Wordsworth is an English poet as well as his colleague Samuel Taylor Coleridge published the first edition of Lyrical Ballads and it changed everything as mentioned Evelyn Toynton, “In early 1798, Coleridge and a little-known poet named William Wordsworth decided to publish a joint volume of their poems.” (Toynton, Evelyn). William expressed this fear of premature mortality of the imagination in each of his works, Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, The Prelude, The World is Too Much with Us, and London, 1802.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud By William Wordsworth

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    He personifies both the daffodils and waves as he compares their beauty to each other. However, the flowers "out-did" the waves with their happiness, since waves do not bring as much joy as the yellow flowers. This comparison makes the daffodils seem even more beautiful and happy. Furthermore, the speaker uses more joyful connotations to describe the daffodils. The use of the word “jocund” instead of cheerful implies the complexity of the beauty of the flower. Both the comparison and the connotation reinforce the theme of happiness. Moreover, the speaker uses the repetition of the word “gaze”. By repeating the word, he indicates that he, consistently, looked at the flowers for a long time. Additionally, the speaker metaphorically compares the sight of the daffodils to “wealth”. The word "wealth" in this instance, is not a measure of material prosperity, but rather a measure of a permanent kind of happiness that results from simply the view of the

    Read More

  • Summary Of I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud By William Wordsworth

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Wordsworth wrote the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” in the year of 1802 while he was walking home with his sister Dorothy, and they discovered and saw a patch of daffodils (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/). This poem deals with the interchange between human and nature, and then due to the comparison between the poet and the daffodils, the poet makes himself a piece or part of nature. Furthermore, the daffodils are portrayed as heavenly and spiritual creatures who “dance” (l 6) which makes the poet become one as well. This symbolizes the poets mind’s overflow of ideas which inspire him to write, and it leads to his mind’s rebirth. Hence, the poet uses figurative language and form to show the overflow of ideas and rebirth that is achieved through the exchange between man and nature.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Analysis of I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    I chose the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth because I like the imagery in it of dancing daffodils. Upon closer examination, I realized that most of this imagery is created by the many metaphors and similes Wordsworth uses. In the first line, Wordsworth says "I wandered lonely as a cloud." This is a simile comparing the wondering of a man to a cloud drifting through the sky. I suppose the wandering cloud is lonely because there is nothing up there that high in the sky besides it. It can pass by unnoticed, touching nothing. Also, the image of a cloud brings to mind a light, carefree sort of wandering. The cloud is not bound by any obstacle, but can go wherever the whim of the wind takes it. The next line of poem says "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils." Here Wordsworth is using a metaphor to compare the daffodils to a crowd of people and a host of angels. The word crowd brings to mind an image of the daffodils chattering amongst one another, leaning their heads near each other in the wind. The word host makes them seem like their golden petals are shimmering like golden halos on angels. It is interesting to note that daffodils do have a circular rim of petals in the middle that could look like a halo. Later in the poem Wordsworth uses another simile, saying the dancing of daffodils in the wind is "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way." This line creates the image of the wind blowing the tops of random daffodils up and down in a haphazard matter, so they appear to glint momentarily as their faces catch the sun. This goes along with the next metaphor of the daffodils "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." Comparing their movement to a dance also makes me think of swirling, swishing yellow skirts moving in harmony.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem “I Wandered lonely as a cloud,” by William Wordsworth reflects on the importance of a happy memory. William Wordsworth was inspired by his love for nature and by an event occurred with his sister during their vacation. This poem is about a lonely man who love flowers especially Daffodils, find himself imagining those beautiful, bright and golden Daffodils whenever he is sad and alone. Memorable moments are often a way to escape the problems of daily life because sometimes we just need to drop our problems and relax. We need something to concentrate on so that we can relax and this vision is exactly the type of relaxing method a lonely and sad person needs, just as the poet did in his in this poem.

    Read More

  • Comparison of the Use of Nature by Shelley and Wordsworth

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"(190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy! That in our embers / Is something that doth live, / That nature yet remembers / What was so fugitive!" (192) Here an ember represents our fading years through life and nature is remembering the childhood that has escaped over the years. As far as Wordsworth and his moods go I think he is very touched by nature. I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and piece of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." (193) Not only is this showi...

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Tintern Abbey And Preface To Lyrical Ballads

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    During Wordsworth time as a poet he made it his mission to have poetry be read by not only the aristocrats but also now the common man something that has never been done. In both poems Wordsworth makes his poems relatable by incorporating themes that everyone can relate to even if they haven’t personally had that experience, although both poems do differ when it comes down to structure and form but also when trying to convey a message, these poems are important because these ideas have never been done before and now even the average Joe can finally participate in a conversation about poetry and this brings two world together.

    Read More

  • Nature in "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the poet’s mental journey in nature where he remembers the daffodils that give him joy when he is lonely and bored. The poet is overwhelmed by nature’s beauty where he thought of it while lying alone on his couch. The poem shows the relationship between nature and the poet, and how nature’s motion and beauty influences the poet’s feelings and behaviors for the good. Moreover, the process that the speaker goes through is recollected that shows that he isolated from society, and is mentally in nature while he is physically lying on his couch. Therefore, William Wordsworth uses figurative language and syntax and form throughout the poem to express to the readers the peace and beauty of nature, and to symbolize the adventures that occurred in his mental journey.

    Read More

More about Unforgettable Joy Analysis

Open Document