The Power of Pensive Recollection

“Daffodils”

I wandered 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 stretched 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
Out-did 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. 

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a renowned English romantic poet of the nineteenth century. His work was present in romantic works such as Frankenstein. “Daffodils,” also known as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” follows the narrator (who we can assume is Wordsworth) as he recalls his discovery of a field of wild daffodils at which he marvels without weighing the benefits they may bring him. The second half of the poem deals principally with his recollection of the beautiful daffodils and the happiness they bring him in his “pensive mood.” Like “Tintern Abbey” (one of his other famous works), “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” has a strong focus on nature, its impact on the narrator, and the power of recollection vs. immediate enjoyment. The first and most evident connection created by Wordsworth in the poem is that of man and nature. While the poem opens centered on the narrator as he floats “o’er the vales and hills,” it quickly shifts in focus to describe the field of daffodils. What is more significant is the extent to which Wordsworth personifies the flowers. He describes them as a “crowd,” “dancing” and “tossing their heads.” Meanwhile, the narrator himself is described as a cloud (i.e. not human). The “swap” of human and natural characteristics draws a strong connection between the narrator and nature around him.        

The choice of daffodils over any other specie of flowers is also important to investigate. Daffodils are also known as Narcissus. Narcissus, in mythology, was a Greek hunter who, upon seeing his reflection in a pool of water, fell in love with his own beauty and died as a result (either by drowning or starvation).  Not so coincidently, where he died grew a patch of narcissus (or daffodils). In the poem, the daffodils also grew by a body of water (“sparkling waves”), and the narrator is almost mesmerized by their intense beauty. It can be concluded that Wordsworth chose daffodils due to their connections to the myth of Narcissus, so that they would better express the intense passion experienced by the narrator, much like Narcissus did with his own reflection.

As with “Tintern Abbey,” this poem also has a strong focus on the power of recollection, rather than immediate appreciation. While the narrator experienced an intense appreciation for the flowers’ beauty, the poem places a strong emphasis on the strong feeling of pleasure/happiness that recollection of the daffodils bring to the narrator when he thinks back to the field. More precisely, there is a focus on recollection in a “pensive mood.” The narrator’s “inward eye” is his power of recollection and memory. The pleasure brought to the narrator through calm, pensive, recollection seems stronger and more powerful than his initial observation of the flowers, which appears more superficial. Recollection leads his “heart” to fill with pleasure. The heart is representative of a human being’s center, identity, and most importantly, soul. Therefore, when his heart fills with pleasure, it is a much stronger bond that is created than when he merely observes the outward beauty of the daffodils. It allows him to “dance with the daffodils,” and truly connect with nature.