Daffodils

Also called I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Wordsworth's poem about remembering a field of flowers. Romanticism, and memory as consolation.

What it is

A poem of 1807, properly titled "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", in which the speaker recalls coming upon a mass of daffodils and finds the memory returning to comfort him later.

Where it applies

English Literature, and widely taught at Key Stage 3 as an introduction to Romantic poetry.

How it works

Its argument is in the last stanza, which most readings skip: the point is not the flowers but the memory of them. The experience becomes useful afterwards, "in vacant or in pensive mood".

Four regular six-line stanzas, gentle rhyme, personification throughout — the daffodils dance, toss their heads, out-do the waves.

It is a Romantic poem in the technical sense: nature as a source of feeling and moral value, the individual imagination as the instrument.

How to use it in your work

Write about the final stanza. An essay that stops at "he saw some flowers and was happy" has missed the poem.

Do not sneer at it for being famous. Examiners see a lot of dismissiveness about this poem and it never scores.

Good for comparison with any poem about nature, memory or solitude.

Where to get help

Your teacher, first — set texts vary by board and by school, and yours is the one that counts. Your board's past papers and examiners' reports are free online and say plainly what separates the bands.