Essay On I Wondered Lonely As A Cloud By William Wordsworth

The first impression I got after reading William Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” is that it is about showing an increasing appreciation for nature. It seems that the author notices a hill covered in daffodils while walking along a lake. By using phrases such as “dancing in the breeze,” he describes what makes the daffodils beautiful and stand out, but that is all that he does, at least within the poem. It is surprising that noticing the daffodils is all that Wordsworth is doing, their beauty apparently means nothing to him. I believe is in the final stanza of the poem, when Wordsworth is at home, lying on his couch alone with his eyes closed that he appreciates the true beauty of the scene he witnessed earlier and it makes him feel joyful.
Overall, the flow and sounds in this poem really let me feel the poem. As I was listening to myself reading this poem, I could almost see myself walking along the waterfronts of a bay in ease, taking in the beauty of everything around me. The way Wordsworth describes and has places words in his poems made me see realize that the beauty of nature is just as relaxing and safe as the “bliss of solitude.” I was almost able to “see” the beauty of the daffodils because of the clever and creative imagery used by Wordsworth. By using words such as “[f]luttering and dancing” and “[t]en thousand,” it became quite easy for me to visualize the number and movement of the daffodils that Wordsworth eventually finds beautiful.
I found the setting of Wordsworth’s poem very direct and easy to pick up since nature itself is the setting, outside along a shoreline with daffodils covering it. I believe the setting is the key to this poem, since that is what it is about and this poem would not exist without this setting. Then again, perhaps it is the solitary setting at his home, when he alone, that makes him realize the splendor that is nature. In any case, I cannot deny that this poem is a first person account of nature. As I write this response to Wordsworth’s poem, I myself feel as the poem itself is Wordsworth’s response for nature. This poem is Wordsworth’s own personal experience and he documents the account quite beautifully. The bottom line is that when I read William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” I could not help but think about the times I have spent in nature and I could somehow relate to it.