Daffodils

 

Daffodils

PASSAGE-1

 i. Who has been referred to as ‘I’ in the first line of the extract? Where do you think was he wandering?

i)  The poet William Worthsword is referred to as 'l' in the first line of the extract .He was wandering all alone in the woods of the Lake District.

ii. What did the poet encounter while wandering? Where did he encounter them?

ii) The poet encountered a large number of golden daffodils. They grew beneath the trees along the edge of a lake.

iii. Why do you think the poet refers to the daffodils as golden?

iii) The daffodils were yellow and they were shining in the sun like gold.

iv. Discuss the importance of the following lines with reference to the poem:

“Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”

iv ) These lines personify the beautiful daffodils. The poet sees the daffodils growing  along the margin of a bay, and they appear to be dancing and fluttering in the breeze. These lines are important as it was the daffodils’ lively appearance that captivated the poet.

v. Which figure of speech is used in the following lines? How many daffodils do you think the poet saw? Give reason for you answer.

“When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils,”

v) The poet has used hyperbole. He saw a host of daffodils, which means there were nearly ten thousand of them. It is exaggeration/hyperbolic expression. He might have seen a few hundred of them.

 

PASSAGE-2

 i. How are the daffodils compared to the stars?

(i)    The poet uses a simile to compare the daffodils to the stars on the Milky Way. As infinite number of stars shine on the Milky Way, so a multitude of golden daffodils grew along the edge of the lake.

 ii. What is the Milky Way? Why is it referred to in the extract?

(ii)  ‘Milky way’ is a galaxy of stars that stretches like a band across the sky. It is referred to in the extract to compare the infinite number of stars to the infinite number of daffodils.

 iii. What is meant by the margin of the bay?

(iii)  The margin of the bay means the edge of the lake.

 iv. State how the technique of using exaggeration heightens the poetic effect in the extract?

(iv)The poet has exaggerated the number of daffodils by calling them a crowd, a host and continuous as the stars on the Milky Way. It gives us a picture of infinite stars growing along the bank of the lake as far as the poet could see. The use of such exaggeration thus heightens the poetic effect.

v. Briefly describe the musical quality of the extract.

v)  Daffodils are a lyric poem. Each line consists of eight syllables and the rhyme scheme is ababcc. Soft consonants have been used which gives a musical effect when read aloud.

 

PASSAGE-3

 i. How did the daffodils outdo the waves?

i) The daffodils were more vibrant than the waves. The daffodils danced and fluttered and tossed their heads while the waves just rippled and sparkled.

ii. What is meant by jocund company?  Which jocund company is the poet referring to? Why does the poet find it jocund?

ii) A jocund company means a happy and gay party. The poet found himself in the jocund company of golden daffodils and dancing waves. They all were jocund because they danced merrily without a pause.

 

iii. Which wealth referred to by the poet? Explain how the wealth was brought to the poet?

iii) The happy and beautiful scene made the poet happy. But this joy was not momentary. It was a joy forever. The memory of the scene made him happy again and again later. It was the wealth the scene had brought to the poet. The wealth was brought to the poet when he encountered the golden daffodils surpassing the beauty of dancing waves.

 iv. What is the mood of the poet in the above extract? Which lines tell you so? Why is he in such a mood?

iv) The poet is in a happy mood. The lines 'A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company' tells us that he was very happy. The daffodils and the waves were happy and their happiness was infectious. It made him happy too.

 v. With reference to the above extract, state why Wordsworth can be called nature poet.

v)  Wordsworth loved nature. He liked to wander in woods, valleys and over the hills. He loved and admired the scenes of nature, and described them beautifully in his poems. So we can say ……..

 

PASSAGE-4

 i. What happens to the poet when the he lies on his couch in a pensive mood?

  i) When the poet lies down on his couch in a pensive mood, the memory of the scene of dancing daffodils flashes on his mind. He feels he is again in the company of happy daffodils and it makes his heart dance with them again.

 ii. What is the ‘bliss of solitude’ referred to in the extract? How does the bliss of solitude take place?

ii) The bliss of solitude is referred to the paradise the poet finds himself in as soon as the image of golden daffodils flashes before his eye.  The bliss comes to him in the form of the memory of dancing daffodils when he is alone, sad and in thoughtful mood.

 

iii. Explain the transition from poet’s pensive mood to his heart filled with joy.

iii) When the poet is lonely sad and in a thoughtful mood, he lies on his couch. But suddenly, the memory of the scene of the dancing daffodils flashes in his imagination. He feels he is in the company of the gay daffodils. His loneliness, sadness and melancholy, all vanishes. He is happy again. His heart is filled, with joy.

iv. With reference to the last two lines of the extract, state the influence that nature can have over an individual’s mind.

iv) ‘Nature’ is a healer. It is like a nurse. It gives comfort and solace. It removes sad and unhappy thoughts and fills our hearts with hope and joy.

 v. Wordsworth says that poetry is “the overflow of feelings arising from emotions recollected in tranquillity.’ In this context, state how the poem shows the truth of his statement.

v) Wordsworth idea of poetry is that it originates from the overflow of feelings, recollected in tranquillity. This means that the poet observes some object. It sets off powerful emotions in his mind. The poet lets them sink into his mind. At a later moment, he recollects those emotions in tranquillity and produces a poem. The poem Daffodils clearly explains this definition of poetry. The poet saw a beautiful scene of dancing daffodils.  He was filled with joy. At a later moment when he was alone (in tranquillity) he recollected that scene. He felt the bliss again and the result is this poem.

 

 

 

 

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