To Daffodils; By Robert Herrick

To Daffodils

By Robert Herrick

Fair Daffodils, we weep to see

You haste away so soon;

As yet the early-rising sun

Has not attain’d his noon.

Stay, stay,

Until the hasting day

Has run

But to the even-song;

And, having pray’d together, we

Will go with you along.

We have short time to stay, as you,

We have as short a spring;

As quick a growth to meet decay,

As you, or anything.

We die

As your hours do, and dry

Away,

Like to the summer’s rain;

Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,

Ne’er to be found again.

Bengali Translation:

টু ড্যাফোডিলস

শ্বেতশুভ্র ডেফোডিল, আমরা কাঁদি, এটা দেখে যে

এত তাড়াতাড়ি তুমি চলে যাও;

এখনও ভোরের উদীয়মান সূর্য

মধ্যাহ্নে যোগ দেয়নি।

থাকো, থাকো,

যতক্ষণ পর্যন্ত ব্যস্ত দিন

চলে না যায়।

সান্ধ্য সংগীত পর্যন্ত

এবং একত্রে প্রার্থনা শেষ করিয়া, আমরা

যাব তোমার সাথে

তোমাদের মতো আমাদেরও স্বল্প আয়ুষ্কাল,

আমাদের জীবনও বসন্তের মতো সংক্ষিপ্ত;

দ্রুত বৃদ্ধিই যেন দ্রুত নিঃশেষ,

তোমাদের বা অন্যকিছুর মতো।

আমরা চলে যাই,

যেমন করে তোমার জীবন নিঃশেষ হয় এবং

শুকিয়ে যাই

গ্রীষ্মের বৃষ্টির মতো;

কিংবা ভোরের শিশির বিন্দুর মতো

কখনও পুনরায় খুঁজে পাওয়া যায় না।

a) Answer the following questions. 

Q1. Why does the poet weep to see fair daffodils? What does he want it to do? Do you ever have such a feeling?

Q2. Do you think that the title of the poem is suggestive and evocative?

Q3. How has human life been compared to the life of daffodils?

Q4. Give the main idea of the poem.

Q5. Who are ‘we’? What do ‘we’ and the daffodils have in common?

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.                                                                                                                                       

c) Read the poem again and express your feelings. Or, Write the theme of the poem. 

Answer:

Q1. Why does the poet weep to see fair daffodils? What does he want it to do? Do you ever have such a feeling?

Ans. The poet weeps because daffodils have such a short life, symbolizing the fleeting nature of beauty and life itself. He wishes they could stay longer, at least until evening, showing his desire to hold onto beautiful moments. While I personally don’t weep over flowers, I can relate to feeling sad when something beautiful doesn’t last long.

Q2. Do you think that the title of the poem is suggestive and evocative?

Ans. The title “To Daffodils” is indeed suggestive and evocative. It hints at the poem’s theme of life’s brevity, using daffodils as a symbol for all things beautiful but short-lived. The title invites readers to reflect on the nature of life and death, making it both meaningful and thought-provoking.

Q3. How has human life been compared to the life of daffodils?

Ans. The poem compares human life to daffodils to highlight how brief our existence is. Just as daffodils bloom briefly before withering, humans live for a relatively short time before dying. This comparison reminds us that life is precious because it’s temporary, encouraging us to appreciate our time.

Q4. Give the main idea of the poem.

Ans. The main idea of the poem is the transient nature of life and beauty. It uses daffodils as a metaphor for human existence, emphasizing that everything in this world is temporary. The poem encourages readers to reflect on life’s brevity and the importance of cherishing our time.

Q5. Who are ‘we’? What do ‘we’ and the daffodils have in common?

Ans. ‘We’ in the poem refers to all humans. Both ‘we’ and the daffodils share the common fate of having a limited lifespan. The poem draws this parallel to highlight the universal nature of mortality, showing that all living things, whether flowers or humans, must eventually come to an end.

b) Metaphors and Similes

To Daffodils uses a lot of similes to compare people and human nature with the daffodil, for example ‘we have a short time to stay, as you.’ This direct comparison speaks of the fleeting nature of life and is continued throughout the second stanza.

★★Tone:—

Tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.

The tone of the poem is sad or melancholic. The poem deals with the transitory of the beauty of nature and the short life of human beings. At the beginning of the poem, the poet says that he weeps to see the short duration of the beauty of daffodils. They bloom in the morning and wither away before it is noon. Similarly, human life is very short. Human beings grow very fast to meet death. Human life is as short as the duration of the summer’s rain and the duration of the dew drops in the morning. Thus, the tone of the poem is sad or melancholic as the poem begins with sadness and this sadness continues till the end of the poem.

★★Figures of Speech:—-

Figures of  Speech means use of ornamental elements into a piece of writing.

The poet used several figures of speech in this poem.

★Imagery:–

The poet used images like daffodils, morning dew, early rising sun etc.

★Personification:–

The daffodils are personified as the poet addresses the daffodils as if they are human beings.

The poet also uses similes and metaphors.

★Metaphor:—

He uses the metaphors like “spring, “morning dew”. “summer’s rain”, “pearl’ to refer to the short life of the human being. The “daffodils” themselves are used as a metaphor as the poet makes a comparison between the human life and daffodils.

★Simile:–

The poet compares the short life of humans to a spring, the best period of the year which is full of beauty.

★Alliteration:—

The poet also uses alliteration using the word pairs like “soon/noon” “stay/day” etc.

C) The main message of Herrick’s speaker in “To Daffodils” is that things change. Time moves forward, waiting for nothing and no one. If there is a constant on which one can depend, it is that time always marches onward, aging objects and altering the landscape as it goes.