Historical-Biographical Approach

The premise for the poem was set by an event in Wordsworth's life occuring on April 15, 1802. During a walk with his sister Dorothy, the sibling to whom he was closest, the two of them came upon an extensive bed of daffodils. This memory became one of Wordsworth's strongest inspiration, leading him to write "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," also titled as "The Daffodils" in some anthologies. Repeated personification of the daffodils gives the poem a common theme throughout, impressing upon the reader the idea that nature will always be alive even in its smaller components. The simple fact that Wordsworth wrote a poem about this event proves its importance to his life, both in the effect it had on his emotions and mind and in the shared experience that he had with his sister, whom he had been very close to for his younger life and remained close to until his death. The title also reveals Wordsworth's emotions concerning his visit to the daffodils, for he is the cloud in this narrative: not in the physical sense as from a birds eye view but in the sense of how he chooses his path. Clouds are unable to control their own movement and are instead propelled by the wind, similar to how Wordsworth was not following a set path when he stumbled on the patch of flowers:, he simply walked through nature and was gifted with this sight. Believing that nature actively guided him to the daffodils, Wordsworth created this poem as a shrine to the idea of a sentient nature in true Romantic fashion.

Formalistic Approach

Disregarding the poem's connections with Wordsworth's own life, the poem's meaning is nearly unchanged. The poem remains a celebration of nature and an homage to the Romantic concept of a Gaia-like earth with purpose and beauty. By analysing the rhyme scheme the complexity of the poem becomes evident. The rhyme scheme, AB AB CC, keeps each line connected to every other line in the stanza while seperating the stanza's with a couplet. The first stanza is used to set the scene, the second describes the beauty of the daffodils, the third details his happiness at the sight and the fourth urges the reader to find his own source of wonder in nature. Wordsworth also forgoes common constrictions of syntax and grammar to maintain the lyrical effect of his work. Diction also plays a big part in maintaining the lyrical reading he wishes to evoke, using precise words to keep the rhyme scheme and to protect his meter. Even so, his meter is broken a number of times; each time painstakingly justified either because an effective choice of diction or the necessity of keeping a line readable. Particularly on line 7 can this be seen, as Wordsworth must sacrifice his meter to make line 7 flow smoothly into line 8. The use of the phrase "on the Milky Way" disrupts the meter of line 8 but is justified in the greatness of the concept of the galaxy and its comparison to the flowers. The uninterrupted rhyme scheme, the nearly-intact meter and Wordsworth's emotions all hold equal sway over the reader in this work, as the poet attempts to convey his absolute wonder when confronted with Mother Nature.