I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
-By William Wordsworth
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.
Bengali Translation:
আই ওয়ান্ডার লোনলি অ্যাজ এ ক্লাউড – ঊইলিয়াম ওয়ার্ডসওয়ার্থ
আমি একাকী ঘুরে বেড়াচ্ছি মেঘের মত
যা ভেসে চলে পাহাড় আর উপত্যকার উপর দিয়ে,
তখনই হঠাৎ আমি দেখি একটি ভিড়,
অসংখ্য সোনালি ডেফোডিল এর এক বিশাল বাহিনী;
হ্রদের পাশে, বৃক্ষতলে,
নেচে বেড়াচ্ছে, মৃদু বাতাসে দোল খেয়ে
যেন বিরতিহীন তারকার উজ্জ্বলতা
যারা মিটমিট করে জলে আকাশের ছায়াপথে,
তারা ছড়ানো ছিল অগণিত লাইনে
উপসাগরের কিনারা ঘেষে;
এক দৃষ্টিপাতেই আমি দেখেছিলাম হাজার দশেক,
তারা মাথা দোলাচ্ছিল আনন্দপূর্ণ নৃত্যে ।
ঢেউএর নাচন দেখি আমি তাদের পাশে, কিন্তু তারা
ছাড়িয়ে গেছে ঝিকিমিকি ঢেউ-এর আনন্দকেও:
কোনো কবিই আনন্দিত না হয়ে পারে না,
এরকম আনন্দের সঙ্গী পেয়ে:
আমি চিন্তা না করেই একদৃষ্টিতে তাকিয়ে ছিলাম,
কী ঐশ্বর্যের প্রদর্শনী এনেছিল আমার কাছে।
প্রায়ই যখন, আমি বিশ্রাম নেই
শুন্য মনে অথবা চিন্তামগ্নভাবে,
তারা ভেসে উঠে অন্তরের চোখে,
মনে হয় একাকীত্বের নির্মল আনন্দ,
আর হৃদয় আনন্দে পরিপূর্ণ হয়ে ওঠে,
এবং নেচে উঠে ডেফোডিলের সাথে।
a) Answer the following questions. 2×5=10
i. What is the significance of the “I wandered lonely as a cloud?
ii. How does the poet personify the daffodils?
iii. How does the tone of the poem evolve?
How does the poem demonstrate the healing power of nature?
How does the natural setting contribute to the theme of the poem?
b) Read the poem again, and identify 2 imageries, 2 similes and 1 metaphor used in the poem. Then explain the purpose of their uses. 10
c) Read the poem again and express your feelings. Or, Write the theme of the poem. 10
Answer:
a)
i) The title reflects the speaker’s initial state of mind where he feels isolated and disconnected, drifting like a solitary cloud.
ii) The poet first personifies the daffodils calling them “a crowd’. Then, they are mentioned as “a host’ welcoming the speaker. After that, the poet describes the vivid imagery of them ‘fluttering’ and ‘dancing’ which are human activities. Later, by ‘tossing their heads”, he gives them a humanly shape.
iii).The tone of the poem begins as reflective and lonely but becomes joyful and uplifting after the poet sees the daffodils.
iv) The poem shows that nature has the power to uplift and heal the soul, even in moments of loneliness. The speaker is heavily touched by the sight of the daffodils at the first glance and the memory of this view continues to bring the speaker joy and peace afterwards.
v) The natural setting, with its serene lake, trees, and vast array of daffodils create a peaceful and uplifting environment. This emphasizes the theme that nature has a calming and rejuvenating effect on human mind as well as soul.
Extra questions:
(a) Where are the daffodils located in the poem?
Ans: In the poem , the daffodils were growing beside a lake under a tree where the narrator was lonely walking .
(b) What is compared to daffodils in the poem?
Ans: The poet compares daffodils to the stars in the galaxy because they were stretched in straight line and appeared just like stars in the sky. The daffodils were golden in color, and their waving in the breeze seemed like the stars were shining and twinkling.
(c) What does the phrase “in the bless of solitude’ mean?
Ans: “In the bliss of solitude” means to enjoy being alone with one’s thoughts and to find blessings in loneliness. It can also mean to find peacefulness and inner richness in a state of solitude.
(d) How does the poet feel when they are with the daffodils?
Ans: In the poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the poet feels ecstatic and overjoyed when he is with daffodils.
(e) How does the poem make you think above nature and happiness?
Ans: The poet is happy when he sees the daffodils, and then, later, when he is alone, the mental image of the daffodils instantly elevates his mood. The cloud is the poet himself. The use of a cloud as a symbol for the poet reinforces the theme of the connection between humanity and nature.
b)
| Literary Figures | Line of the poem | Purpose of Uses |
| Imagery | A host, of golden daffodils | To show the colourful picture of the scenery |
| Then Thousand saw I at a glance | To create an image of vast area filled with a large amount of daffodils | |
| Simile | I wandered lonely as a cloud | To describe speaker’s loneliness as a floating cloud |
| Continuous as the stars that shine | To express the liveliness of the daffodils shining like stars | |
| Metaphor | The flash upon the inward eye | Here, the inward eye represents the sweet memory of daffodils |
C) Throughout ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ Wordsworth engages with themes of nature, memory, and spirituality. These three are tied together as the speaker, Wordsworth himself, moves through a beautiful landscape. He takes pleasure in the sight of the daffodils and revives his spirit in nature.
Or,
Often known simply as ‘Daffodils’ or ‘The Daffodils’, William Wordsworth’s poem that begins ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ is, in many ways, the quintessential English Romantic poem. Its theme is the relationship between the individual and the natural world, though those daffodils are obviously the most memorable image from the poem. The central theme of this poem is the beauty of nature and the love of human being for the natural beauty.
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