I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth Poem Analysis

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a poem that expresses how the beauty of nature distracted the poet from his loneliness. Without a doubt, the theme of this poem is pretty straightforward. I would state it as, “the beauty of nature is a natural healer and source of happiness for mankind.” When I read this poem, I found it relatable because I feel the exact bliss when I'm distracted by the beauty of nature. For a poem to be considered “the best poem in the world,” there have to be relatable personal experiences, a deeper meaning, and literary devices. Oftentimes, people connect with nature to become more spiritually balanced, but this poem expresses the bliss one feels when they are surrounded by the beauty of nature.

I found many examples of literary devices that enhanced the emotions William Wordsworth was feeling when he took a walk in nature. Imagery is a major literary device in this poem. It allows the reader to experience the moment using their imagination. The poem itself is full of imagery. Some include “lonely as a cloud”, “golden daffodils”, “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” and “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”. You can see how imagery, for most, is not the only literary device present. Simile and personification help support these imageries by giving the clouds, or the daffodils, living characteristics. This helps to create a vivid experience. There were only two similes in this poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” and “Continuous as the stars that shine”, in which both had imagery involved. The line, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, compares the writer’s loneliness to that of a single, floating cloud in the sky. This is also an example of personification because clouds cannot be lonely; they travel together. The word “cloud” is used to describe freedom and lightweight, which the author felt when he surrounded himself in nature. The second simile compares the endless field of twinkling daffodils to the countless number of twinkling stars in the Milky Way.

Alliteration is a literary device that repeats the sound of the same letter, numerous times, in a written text. This literary device is not useless at all. It can be used to bring attention or sound pleasing such as tongue twisters, create a mood/tone effect, or give rhythm to verses. There were only two examples of this. “Beside the lake, beneath the trees,” is the repetition of the “b” sound, and is also an example of imagery. The line “dances with the daffodils” is the repetition of the “da” sound, and is also an example of personification. “For oft, when on my couch I lie/In vacant or in pensive mood,/They flash upon that inward eye/Which is the bliss of solitude;/And then my heart with pleasure fills,/And dances with the daffodils.” This is an example of a metaphor but also imagery and personification. The “inward eye” represents and is compared to memory, whereas the outward eye would have represented when he was physically in the field of daffodils. This memory filled his heart with pleasure and it started dancing with the daffodils.

Personification, along with imagery, is another major literary device. Examples include “When all at once I saw a crowd,/A host, of golden daffodils”, “dancing”, “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”, “The waves beside them danced; but they/Out-did the sparkling waves in glee”, “In such a jocund company” and “And dances with the daffodils.” The continuous field of daffodils was personified as a crowd of people, and the wind blowing through the field made the daffodils “toss their heads” as if they were sprightly dancing. Followed by this, the waves started dancing as well. In this jocund company, he felt wealth as he gazed among the daffodils. Dancing is a form of art used to express happiness and joy through body movement. Throughout the poem, there were many examples. The nature and the heart “dancing” expressed the bliss the writer was feeling in the moment.

Conclusion: Throughout the poem, various types of literary devices helped to create vivid visuals of nature that even the reader could experience along. Imagination played a big part in this poem as it helped compare things and give human characteristics to nature.