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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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A/L English Literature Made Easy - Romantic poets : William Wordsworth William Wordsworth was born in 1770 and died in 1850. Being a Nature Poet, he is considered the greatest of the Romantics. During the age of Romanticism, the poets showed their reaction against 'the critical intellectual spirit and formal language of the Augastan age'.
When Wordsworth gave up his involvements in politics, he retired to the Lake District and spent his time, writing poetry. Being a great lover of nature he loved solitude. Wordsworth derived serene pleasure from nature. He was fascinated by nature's beauty and serenity. He was freshened and motivated by the grandeur of nature and his thoughts enthralled in words flowing spontaneously in a tone of conversational rhythm with neatness. He was caught in a 'trance like', state in which he saw the beauty of a flower isolated and unseen. I wandered lonely as a Cloud - Wordsworth's poem I wandered lonely as a cloud creates a striking situation of the poet's leisure hours wandering about freely. "... as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills and suddenly spotting' a host of golden daffodils enticing him. 'A host of golden daffodils' creates the visual image of a large number of daffodils as a whole enabling the reader, to experience the ecstasy of the beautiful sight. The daffodils blooming beside the lake, gives a hint of nature's fantastic tendency to the host of golden daffodils with a cinematic effect. Daffodils are personified as dancers, resembling the flapping of wings of birds and dancing to rhythm 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze'. The unaccountable number of stars that shine on the milkyway, the enormous number of daffodils dancing to a set rhythm resembling the perception of the inward eye. The dance of the daffodils out did the rhythmic movement of the waves, a natural phenomenon. The poet's extreme joy and glory enhanced in the lines. "I gazed - and gazed - but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought. The first pause after the word 'gazed' accompanied by a second pause depicts clearly the poet's anxiety, his extreme joy and ecstasy experienced by spotting the host of golden daffodils. The last verse, creates a visual image of the poet's extreme happiness, his vision and his anxiety aroused by the sight of the golden daffodils. The poet recalling to life the picture of beautiful daffodils, as by flash, and his finding bliss, soothing comfort and finally his heart filling with joy dancing with the daffodils. And when my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils There's a touch of philosophy when the poet points out how nature has the rhythm of the speaking voice. The delicate uniqueness of nature's gifts - the rhythmic movement of the daffodils, the soft sound of the breeze. The tone of the poem highlights the rhythmic pattern of the poem the rapid and slow rhythm. 'Gazed and gazed' And when my heart with pleasure fills And dances with the daffodils. Each verse consists of six lines, the fourth line being shorter than the rest, 'A host of golden daffodils' reflecting the poet's extreme anxiety and ecstasy experienced by the sight of the golden daffodils. - an unexpected spectacle - The longer lines carry the tone of the 'wandering movements. That floats on high o'er vales and hills The picturesque epithet creating the image of the host of golden daffodils is unique and the sounds of the words harmonise in a very impressive manner, moulding the inner feelings and the joy experienced by the poet. Mrs. C. Ekanayake, Retd. Specialist Teacher, Eng Lit., St. Anne's
College, Kurunegala. |
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The Romantics were influenced by the ideals of the French and American
Revolutions and their work reflects a delight in all that is spontaneous
and unaffected in nature and in man' Wordsworth's poetry is a 'spontaneous
overflow of emotion and thoughts recollected in tranquillity'. 
