I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud poem explication

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud Explication
This poem dramatizes the importance of individualism, especially since the poem was a Romantic poem which was the era which individualism was introduced in. Individualism is a very important theme of the poem as it draws the importance of the basics of individualism. Through the focus and beauty of nature, which was also a very big aspect of Romanticism, William Wordsworth points out different perspectives of the new concept of individualism. “Golden daffodils… stars that shine and twinkle… and sparkling waves in glee” (4, 7-8, 14) are used to depict the basics of individualisms. Wordsworth uses these three nature examples because they are all tied together somehow, and that is liberation. Daffodils, stars, and waves very free, they not restraint like many other things in life. Before the Romantic era, lower classes were obliged to follow orders of their authorities. However with individualism, there was a new concept of free opinion of man. The poem emphasizes heavily on the free concept of individualism where man should not be restrained, but rather let loose and on their own like how nature works.

The poem is a lyric poem that follows a rhyme scheme of ABABCC in every stanza. The poem is as it portrays a sense of deep feelings and emotions from the poet himself. In addition, with the big focus on nature as a response to the beauty of nature is also a lyric concept. Much of the poem expresses a lonely emotion. The poem starts with the speaker being “lonely as a cloud” (1). Clouds are always drifting in the sky, they can be drifting towards other patches or even drifting away, but since it is always moving, they don’t have friends which creates a similarity to the loneliness of the speaker and a cloud’s loneliness. The rhyme scheme in the poem helps the poem flow more and it goes along with the iambic meter that is used throughout the poem. Not only does it create a better rhythm, but also, it creates a sort of continuation between lines so that nothing sounds chunky, but rather together.

The poem has a lot of personification and a few similes here and there. Since the poem illustrates a lot of nature, the author uses a decent amount of personification that creates a bigger image for the natural world. It also makes the poem more realistic and animate. With personification, inanimate objects can have the ability to do animated motions. When the “golden daffodils… fluttered and danced in the breeze” (4-6), it helped establish a lighter mood since fluttering and dancing are not heavy steps but rather lighter steps. Personification and similes help create an atmosphere that allows inanimate and animate objects to come together as one and it flows into imagery within poems which create a great big picture. With the symbols of daffodils, waves, and starts along with the personificated actions, the poem portrays a greater image of individualism.

As the poem progresses, the tone and mood of the poem start to change. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker has a very lonely mood and creates a heavier atmosphere. However, as the poem progresses, the beauty of nature cures and helps the speaker become more content with what he has. Rather than being sad that he is along, he creates a “bliss of solitude” (22). His heart becomes “pleasure filled, and dances with the daffodils” (23-24). With nature, the speaker is able to change and start to appreciate the company of nature, rather than just being lonely, he starts to consider nature as beings. Nature comes into a bigger role in changing the mood and tone of the poem from a heavy atmosphere to a more light and cheerful atmosphere.

Overall, nature and individualism is greatly dramatized in the poem. Nature is used to create the scene for individualism and encourage readers to become more open-minded and to think for themselves. As a new era began to change the way people thinks, literature, and especially poems, like I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, creates a great impact on the way people think. In this case, Wordsworth compares individualism to nature which was greatly appreciated and respected which allows the readers to create a strong connection to individualism. To think clearly, to have your own thoughts, to be free was to be like a “golden daffodil, stars that shine and twinkle and sparking waves in glee” (4, 7-8, 14)