A Review of William Wordsworth’ Poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

The poem that is being used in the oral presentation is “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth. There are several elements that are going to be discussed in this analysis which are the literary devices, theme, issues and concerns raised as well as tone and mood.

The poet used variety of literary devices in this poem. Firstly, the used of repetition. For example, the word “dance” is being repeated in every stanza. This is to emphasize the feeling of the daffodils which is blissful and joyful and this has made the poet feel the happiness. In the first stanza, “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. The poet describes the daffodils are fluttering and dancing which shows the happiness and joy and he can feel it when he saw the thousands of daffodils. Another literary device is simile. The poet compares himself to a cloud. It is shown in the line, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. A cloud is a light and free-flowing image. Thus, as a cloud, the poet can wander freely and enjoy the nature which uplifts his spirit.

The theme of this poem is nature’s beauty uplifts the human spirit. This theme is proven in line 23 and line 24. As in line 23, “and then my heart with pleasure fills” shows that the nature represent by the daffodils fortify the poet spirit and make him feel happy. As in line 24, “and dances with the daffodils” enacts that the daffodils can make the poet feel the merriment and finally trigger him to dance along with the dancing daffodils. The poet imagine the beautiful nature vividly that he could see the scene clearly. The nature can evoke emotions, thoughts and feelings as well as fortify the human spirit.

The tone and the mood for this poem are lonely and happy as well as cheerful. As in line 6, “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” indicates the joyfulness that is being shown by the movement of the daffodils. The daffodils are given human character which is dancing to show the happy feeling. The line “tossing their heads in sprightly dance” (L, 12) also portrays the feeling of cheeriness. The daffodils are said to be tossing their head like human being. Nonetheless, there is also sad tone which is lonely. This is shown in the line “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (L, 1). The persona feels the loneliness inside him and he compares himself to the cloud. As he refers himself to the cloud, he is able to feel the true feeling that the nature can give. His spirit is uplifted by the beautiful daffodils.

This poem has a relation to today’s situation where human do not appreciate nature which is a gift from God. Malaysia faces problems of deforestation, pollution of inland and marine waters, soil and coastal erosion, overfishing and coral reef destruction, along with air pollution, water pollution and the problem of waste disposal. Human are too greedy and selfish. Their purpose is just to live in a world that is full of wealth and successful in their career without concern about the surrounding. The global warming is one of the effects from human irresponsible act. As massive amount of trees being cut, the temperature rise and this will contribute to global warming. If this environmental issue goes on, more serious problem will occur. Thus, we should do our best to protect nature. The new generation should appreciate nature.