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'"The Daffodils"' is an 1804 poem by William Wordsworth. It was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy came across a "long belt" of daffodils. It was first published in 1807, and a revised version was released in 1815. In anthologies the poem is sometimes titled "I wandered lonely as a cloud."

Contents

Summary

Popular Usage

The Wordsworth Rap

References in Popular Art

References

External links

Summary

In this poem, Wordsworth records his experience of suddenly chancing upon "a host" of daffodils during a lonely walk. The daffodils delight him with their abundance and beauty; he says they seem as numerous as the stars that shine in the sky. He also remarks on the beauty of the bay nearby, but adds that even its sparkling waves are not so exuberant as the yellow daffodils "dancing in the breeze".
Like the maiden's song in "The Solitary Reaper," the memory of the daffodils is etched in the poet's mind and soul to be cherished forever. When he's feeling lonely, dull or depressed, he thinks of the daffodils, and cheers up. The full impact of the daffodils' beauty (symbolizing the beauty of nature) did not strike him at the moment of seeing them, when he stared blankly at them but much later when he sat alone, sad and lonely and remembered them.
The inspiration for the poem may have been a walk he took with his sister Dorothy around Lake Ullswater. Dorothy later wrote in reference to this walk:

I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever dancing ever changing.'' (Dorothy Wordsworth, The Grasmere Journal)''

Popular Usage

The poem is covered and taught in the 7th grade English textbook of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board of Education of India. It is also part of the English Literature GCSE course in some British examination boards.
The poem was also used in the movie ''The Namesake'' recited by Ashima Ganguli.
Because it is one of the best known poems in the English language and is also unabashedly romantic and sentimental, it has frequently been the subject of parody. Some recent examples can be found here, here, here, and here.

The Wordsworth Rap

In 2007, ''I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'', arguably Wordsworth's most famous poem, was given the ‘rap’ treatment, for the bicentenary year of its publication. The words were re-worked and given a backing track so the poem could be sung as a rap. This was done by the Cumbria tourist board, in an effort to draw younger visitors to the Lake District.^[1]
The rap video was shot on the banks of Lake Ullswater which provided the original inspiration for the poem, particularly around Sharrow Bay and featured a giant squirrel known as ''MC Nuts'' mouthing the words. This particular addition, some have felt, was bizarre.^[1]
The team responsible claims that the re-working of the poem stays true to the original sentiment but contains a slight variation of the lyrics. The rap attempts to make the works of Wordsworth relevant to a new, younger audience, and show how modern-day rap and its clever use of wordplay is a distant relative of poetic rhyming verse. The new rap was welcomed by the Wordsworth Trust.^[3]
However, the reworking has been criticised by some, as Wordsworth himself disapproved of tourism, in 1844 sending the prime minister a poem that condemned the proposed railway to Windermere, that now bring tourists to the lakes. ^[3]. Additionally, satirical panel show Have I Got News For You openly mocked the reworking in the episode broadcast on BBC 1 on April 13 2007.
You can listen to the ‘Daffodil Rap’here.

References in Popular Art

–On progressive rock band Genesis's album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,' the first part of the song 'The Colony of Slippermen,'
named 'The Arrival,' begins with a very clear reference to Wordsworth's poem; the first lines are:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

Till I came upon this dirty street

I've never seen a stranger crowd;

Slubberdegullions on squeaky feet,



Continually pacing,

With nonchalant embracing,

These lines have the same rhyme scheme, and even the same beginning line, as the original poem.

References

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/10/nrap110.xml
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/10/nrap110.xml
3. http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2054283,00.html
4. http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2054283,00.html

External links

★ The Wordsworth Trust

★ "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud", interpretative video and song at Cumbria Tourism.