Reflection on I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud

    I wondered lonely as a cloud is a poem written by William Wordsworth which invites us to enjoy the beauty of nature. William Wordsworth was one of the greatest poets of the romantic era. It’s a positive poem that inspires us to see the beauty of things that we may usually take advantage of; just like ‘composed upon Westminster Bridge’, in which the poet compares the beauty of London to the beauty of nature. He was born on 17 April 1770 in Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, Cumberland. The poem ‘I wondered lonely as a cloud ‘ uses an ABABCC rhyme scheme and is written in iambic tetrameter. A masterful work, this piece captures the essence of nature’s beauty.

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.

As a reader, I strongly feel that this poem is a superb piece of writing. William Wordsworth had done a fabulous job in writing this poem. He does arise reader’s interest in exploring the beauty of the nature. In the end, this piece really envelops the close bond that nature holds with man.