Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

The Daffodils and to Daffodils

Good Essays
543 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Daffodils and to Daffodils
The poems "The Daffodils" and "To Daffodils" are two very diverse poems. Although they both present completely different ideas, they also contain very little similarities. Even though both authors use a daffodil to express their view points towards life, they both convey very different thoughts. They both symbolize life through nature. The poems "The Daffodils" by William Wordsworth, and "To Daffodils by Robert Herrick portray an ample amount of differences, yet some similarities. Although having some similarities, the two poems have a quite large amount of differences. In the poem "To Daffodils," Wordsworth uses plenty of figurative language to argue about living life and enjoying life while we life. "We have short time to stay, as you, We have as short as spring." (Herrick 11,12) He realizes that life, whether floral or human, is short and usually ends sooner than desired. Herrick describes life short as spring. He describes that seasons die away soon just like humans. His views towards nature play a big role in his poem, depicting the way he feels towards the little amount of time in a season. This poem is also more complex; written with more descriptive wording. More thought is in the poem, and symbolism, yet this poem is not so well known. In the poem "The Daffodils" Herrick's fascination towards nature shines out while describing that nature brings out the joy and happiness in his life. The poem begins with "I wandered lonely as a cloud" (Wordsworth, 1) which displays the loneliness the speaker is feeling. Once he came across the daffodils, his mood quickly changes as he saw them "dancing" across the field. His passion towards nature is showed by the beauty he had in sight of the daffodils. Wordsworth depicts his pleasure to solitary contemplation. He felt lonely at first once he saw the nature of beauty his views changed. The two writers depict their passion towards nature. The passion towards nature shines in both poems. In the poems "To Daffodils" and "The Daffodils" use nature as symbolism. In "The Daffodils," Wordworth uses personification and the beauty of nature to demonstrate joy. "A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." (Wordsworth 4,5,6) His word choice of the daffodils dancing displays the joy that shines through him while he views them. In "To Daffodils," Herrick personifies a daffodil to a life filled with happiness. "Fair daffodils, we weep to see," (Herrick 1) Herrick speaks about the sight of daffodils and how their so beautiful. Both poets show their passion towards nature. Wordsworth romantically shows his love and devotion to the beauty, and how that view will always be remembered. Herrick is more complex, but he still depicts the power nature has.
The poems "The Daffodils" and "To Daffodils" have a wide range of differences, and very little similarities. Both poets explain their thoughts about life. One being more about enjoying life while it lasts, and the other about the little things that may bring joy to you. While Herrick is more complex and direct, Wordsworth has fun with the poem, symbolizing the happiness through nature. These poems are very diverse, but somehow they teach us two great lessons that tie in together.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When most people hear the word “Spring” they think of a typical Sleeping Beauty situation, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. It is always a cheerful time coming out of winter, but for the narrator in Williams's Spring and All, spring is a dreadful time of sorrow and death. Gluck’s For Jane Meyers focuses on a more positive tone, describing a kid excited for the coming of spring so much than he could just die. These two poems use numerous instances of imagery to illustrate the worst and best qualities of spring. In Spring and All, the poem focuses on the dull, sluggish qualities of spring as it is arriving, and For Jane Meyers, holds the tone of spring as a beautiful and exciting.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mary Oliver Dualism

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The dualism of culture as opposed to nature, and the resulting hierarchy of humans believing themselves superior to nature according to Western epistemological paradigms, are criticised through Oliver's nature poems, in particular "Spring" and "Lilies". The first few lines in her poem "Lilies" displays the persona's desire to return to nature, "I have been thinking/ about living/ like the lilies". This introduction is a common element in many of her nature poems, providing an ecological answer of an interrelated community and challenging the old pernicious myth that humans are independent of nature. Through the speaker of the poem, the audience is drawn to the nature of lilies and the simplicity of their existence. When the poem reaches the sixth quatrain the contrast between…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On main thing both of the poems have in common is that they are both talking about how their parents were. They use a variety of metaphors to suggest what their parents are like. “Gilded finches” and “moon’s eye to me.”…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A giant field of daffodils or a single Calypso borealis in a murky swamp, both equally beautiful but vastly different. John Muir and William Wordsworth have two very different way of describing things that are very similar to each other. Both are capable of portraying beautiful stories but in two completely opposite ways. Wordsworth uses intriguing syntax to portray his story while Muir uses profound connotation and diction.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The structure used in the poems along with similes and metaphors to describe the soldiers in both poems give a sad, solemn tone, to show how the poet was effected by conflict. The use of enjambment in The Falling Leaves gives the sense of long pauses and broken thoughts and feelings of the poet showing that it saddens the poet to think of hundreds of soldiers losing their lives in war. In Poppies, “All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt, slowly melting.”, is used to show that the feeling of her son leaving to fight in a war was hard to explain and that the words meant nothing as the feeling was too strong to explain in words.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first stanza, the poet uses this specific diction to come to realize a young boy or girls imagination, “peppermint wind, moon-bird, grass grows soft and white.” Children are innocent, and their artistic imagination characterizes where there imagination can take them. In the second stanza, it could symbolize the children’s conception in the adult world, “asphalt flowers, dark streets, smoke blows black” (Siminoff,). This example explains that the children see the world as a dark, non-playful, challenging life style, which it can be. From the children’s perspective, it teaches them that they should take life at a slow pace, and not give up on childhood too quickly because living as a child is challenging, not knowing what to expect after childhood, and imagining life in the adult…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When you think of comparing works, William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" don't come to mind. When you actually think about it, there are many things that can be compared about these two pieces. One can be their usage of words. Both authors are able to take vivid words and create a vibrant story out of them. These two pieces share a very similar structure. The way Wordsworth uses words to display his love of nature is like the way Shakespeare uses his words to create how Romeo talks about Juliet and vice versa. These two authors are actually both writing with the same concept, just about different…

    • 116 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He states in the first stanza that he wanders “lonely as a cloud/That floats on high o’er vales and hills,” which, in just reading the first line, may seem a bit melancholy. However, interpreting the vision of a magnificent cloud alone in the sky puts a positive spin on the idea. Additionally, the second line serves as a reminder of that positivity. He then refers to a vast expanse of flowers as “a crowd,/a host, of golden daffodils,” suggesting that the amount of flowers is overwhelming, but in no way is it a sign that one should not venture further. On the contrary, it seems a lot more like an invitation to join in on the ‘party’ that the flowers are having. If Wordsworth had simply called it “a bunch/a group of flowers,” it would not have had nearly the same effect, because ‘group’ and ‘crowd’ have very different implications as far as size goes. He furthers the hyperbole in the second stanza by calling the flowers “Continuous as the stars that shine/And twinkle on the milky way.” For most, the number of stars in our galaxy is entirely unfathomable. Furthermore, the idea of that many things existing in just one area on our planet is almost overwhelming, and it puts a great sprightly feeling into the reader’s…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Poem begins with metaphors which make comparisons to the beauty of youth. “Natures first green is gold,” compares the precious beauty of first stages to the priceless value of gold. “Her early leaf’s a flower,” demonstrates personification of “her” which represents beauty and care, adding a gentle outlook. Flowers are often viewed with admiration of their beauty and grace, to compare a leaf to a flower exhibits the young beauty, of which all flowers and leaves eventually lose, when they wither and die.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Muir and Wordsworth

    • 791 Words
    • 2 Pages

    While both poets Muir and Wordsworth wrote about the happy feelings that they have towards nature the beautiful outdoors or what some people may say Mother Nature, some of which the feelings are the same and some that are different as they speak of the different plants.…

    • 791 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry Synthesis Essay

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The poem is an extended metaphor and uses symbolism and personification to animate the words. The poet refers to himself as a “tall, ugly weed” amongst “flowers”. He uses the weed to represent his desire to stand tall and free rather than be stuck in a pot. The weed and the flower are presented with the same obstacles, but the flower is pampered and prized and looked after. The poet declares that he would always prefer to be the weed, which is free and independent, over the flower that is beautiful and cherished but is someone’s property. The poet also alludes to his distrust of people in general in the lines “where they’re praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands”.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry Analysis

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is a wonderful poem I would share with anyone within a blink of an eye. The poem can bring someone to a place where he or she can just relax and forget about the problems of the world. Also, this poem can remind whoever is reading it of a certain memory or a certain place that made them feel at peace within themselves. The image of dancing dandelions next to a beautiful lake is just so happy and cheerful that it is almost impossible not to love. This poem can take one away from reality and bring them to a realistic fantasy, and who does not wantThe diction in poetry dictates the emotion one is supposed to feel in a poem. First off, diction in poetry is the use of words the poet uses in his or her work. The poet can choose words that sound depressing, happy, pleasant, or repulsive. The poet’s choice of words can make a depressing…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The language of the “I Wondered as a Cloud” is much more soft and respecting towards the nature. William Wordsworth doesn’t use “my” at all in his poem, because his poem is not so egoistic. It is not a surprise that that this poem’s other title is The Daffodils. The poet shows his great respect towards nature and he uses a rhythmic style that helps him to get our…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Autumn When Autumn Came

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What is the mood or atmosphere of the poem? Does it change at any point? Why?…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The problems both poems directly address are focussed on the exploitation of nature in pursuit of wealth and material gain; what differentiates the poems is their reliance and response to the natural world, which had been moulded around the needs of mankind in the 1800s. As a result, mankind abused the natural world and preferring to pollute it as a means of gaining wealth. Unsurprisingly, both were greatly influenced by their religious fervour; Wordsworth shows evident sympathy for Pagan mythology, while Hopkins was committed to a…

    • 4600 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays