UNIT 1: DAFFODILS ( British American Literature}

UNIT 1: DAFFODILS

(WILLIAM WORDSWORTH)
 (1770-1850)

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

     William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland in 1770. He spent most of his life in the mountains of the Great District, where he was greatly influenced by the beauty of the nature of the country. He was often sympathized with people in the countryside.

THE POEM

1.	I wander’d lonely as a cloud	a
	That floats on high o’er vales and hills,	b
	When all at once I saw a crowd,	a
	A host of golden daffodils;	b
	Beside the lake, beneath the trees,	c
	Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.	c
7.	Continuous as the stars that shine	b
	And twinkle on the Milky Way,	c
	They stretch’d in never-ending line	b
	Along the margin of a bay:	c
	Ten thousand saw I at a glance,	d
	Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.	d
13.	The waves beside them danced, but they	c
	Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:	d
	A poet could not but be gay	c
	In such a jocund company;	d
	I gazed—and gazed—but little thought	e
	What wealth the show to me had brought.	e
19.	For oft, when on my couch I lie	d
	In vacant or in pensive mood,	e
	They flash upon that inward eye	d
	Which is the bliss of solitude;	e
	And then my heart with pleasure fills,	g
	And dances with the daffodils.	g

Before reading 

Activity 1:

+ Listen to the following introduction to the poem.

INTRODUCTION

     On the day Wordsworth saw the daffodils, his sister, Dorothy was with him, and she wrote about the experience in her diary:

“It was a threatening misty morning but mild. We set off after dinner from Eusmere. Mrs Clarkson went a short way with us, but turned back. The wind was furious and we thought we must have returned. We first rested in a large boat-house, then under a furse bush opposite Mr. Clarkson’s. We saw the plough going into the field. The wind seized our breath. The lake was rough. There was a boat by itself floating in the middle of the bay below Water Millock. We rested again in Water Millock Lane. The hawthornes are black and green, the birches here and there greenish, but there is yet more of purple to be seen on the twigs. We got over into a field to avoid some cows -- people working. A few primroses by the roadside – woodsorrel flower, the amenone, scentless violets, strawberries, and that starry, yellow flower which Mrs C. called pile wort. When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the water-side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore, and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and more, and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful. They grow among the mossy stones 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 glancing, ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here and there little knot, and a few stragglers a few yards higher up, but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity, unity, and life of that one busy highway.”

Dorothy Wordsworth

Activity 2:

+ Through the above introduction, how much do you know about the poem? Tick box/boxes for each sentence.

	YES	PERHAPS	NO
a. The poem is about the beauty of nature.
b. The author expresses his viewpoint on death.
c. The poem is about the lively golden daffodils.
d. Wordsworth tried to connect Nature with Man.

Answers:

While reading

Activity 3: Read the poem
I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company;
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

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.

NOTES:
o’ver: over
vales: valleys
oft: often
couch: bed

Activity 4:

+ Listen to the poem reader stanza by stanza and then repeat after him / her.

Stanza 1:

1. I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Stanza 2:

7. Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Stanza 3:

13. The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company;
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.
Stanza 4:

19. 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.

Activity 5:

+ Listen: a - b. Which stanzas in the poem are being read?

Answers:

Activity 6:

+ In a poem rhyme scheme ties the sense together with sound.

Which of the following is the rhyme scheme of this poem? Tick the correct box.

1. abab, bcbc, cdcd, efef
2. aabb, bbcc, ccdd, ddcd
3. abaab, bcbbc, cdccd, dedde
4. ababcc, bcbcdd, cdcdee, dedegg

Answer:

Activity 7:

NOTES:
+ RHYTHM: The repetition of stresses and pauses. It includes meter and rhyme.
    - Meter: A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that governs a poem’s lines.

There are four kinds of meter (pattern of accent):
    • Iamb (Iambic meter): A rhythm based on foot of one weak and one strong syllable.
Ex: They pace / in sleek / chival/ric cer/tainty
    • Trochee (Trochaic meter): The pattern of accent is strong-weak, strong-weak, strong-weak, strong-weal, strong.
Ex: Does he / ever / wonder / where I / am?
    • Anapest (Anapestic meter): A pattern of accent which has two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.
Ex: By the / sea by the / sea by the / beautiful / sea.
    • Dactyl (Dactylic meter): A pattern of accent which has a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.
Ex: Down by the / sea, by the / beautiful / sea.
     Listen to the poem reader again. What pattern of accent does the author use in this poem?

a. Iambic meter
b. Trochaic meter
c. Anapestic meter
d. Dactylic meter

Answer:

Activity 8:

+ The character in the poem, or the wandering traveller was compared as lonely as a floating cloud. What language device did Wordsworth use to make this comparison?

a. Personification
b. Metaphor
c. Simile
d. Irony

Answer:

Activity 9:

     Read stanza 2 (lines 7-12). Which line in this stanza the poet used simile to express his ideas?

a. Line 7
b. Line 8
c. Line 9
d. Line 10
e. Line 11
f. Line 12

Answer:

Activity 10:

     Read stanza 1 again. What language device did Wordsworth use to describe that daffodils were ‘fluttering and dancing in the breeze’?

a. Personification
b. Metaphor
c. Simile
d. Irony

Answer:

Activity 11:

     In stanza 2, line 11, instead of saying ‘I saw ten thousand …’ the poet said ‘Ten thousand saw I…’. What language device did Wordsworth use to express his idea?

a. Personification
b. Inversion
c. Antithesis
d. Irony

Answer:

Activity 12:

     Read stanzas 2 and 3 (lines 7-18). What language device did Wordsworth use to describe that daffodils were ‘stretching in never ending line’, ‘tossing their heads in sprightly dance’, or outdoing the ‘sparkling waves’ which were dancing?

a. Personification
b. Metaphor
c. Simile
d. Irony

Answer:

Activity 13:

     Which word from this stanza expresses the meaning of great joy or great delight?

a. glee
b. gay
c. jocund
d. All of them are correct

Answer:

Activity 14:

     Read the last stanza (lines 19-24). Which word from this stanza expresses the meaning of great happiness or great joy?

a. solitude
b. mood
c. flash
d. bliss
e. pleasure
f. Both (d) and (e) are correct.

Answer:

Activity 15:

     In your opinion, which, among the following sentences, is the literal meaning of the poem?

a. A lonely traveler felt gay and ‘jocund’ when he saw ‘a host of golden daffodils.’
b. A traveler saw ‘a host of golden daffodils’ and it changed his feeling of loneliness toward life.
c. Both of them are incorrect
d. Both of them are correct.

Answer:

After reading

Activity 16:

     What is the subject matter of the poem?

a. There is always a connection between Nature and Man.
b. The interaction between outdoor life and inward life
c. The contrast between outdoor life and inward life
d. Both (a) and (b) are correct.

Answer:

Activity 17:

+ Here are some different titles for the poem. Which one could it go with?

(a) A Tough Choice in Life
(b) Nature Changes My Feelings
(c) A Love for Nature
(d) A Silent Love

Answer: