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    Wordsworth

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    TheMatto
    This document provides context and analysis for three poems by William Wordsworth: "A Slumber did my spirit seal", "Daffodils", and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". It summarizes that "A Slumber did my spirit seal" describes a dream state that allows for poetry creation, "Daffodils" recounts the poet's experience seeing fields of daffodils and how it sparked his creative mind, and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" depicts a peaceful urban morning scene in contrast to Blake's portrayal of the same subject.

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    Wordsworth

    Uploaded by

    TheMatto
    162 views3 pages
    This document provides context and analysis for three poems by William Wordsworth: "A Slumber did my spirit seal", "Daffodils", and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". It summarizes that "A Slumber did my spirit seal" describes a dream state that allows for poetry creation, "Daffodils" recounts the poet's experience seeing fields of daffodils and how it sparked his creative mind, and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" depicts a peaceful urban morning scene in contrast to Blake's portrayal of the same subject.

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    This document provides context and analysis for three poems by William Wordsworth: "A Slumber did my spirit seal", "Daffodils", and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". It summarizes that "A Slumber did my spirit seal" describes a dream state that allows for poetry creation, "Daffodils" recounts the poet's experience seeing fields of daffodils and how it sparked his creative mind, and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" depicts a peaceful urban morning scene in contrast to Blake's portrayal of the same subject.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    162 views3 pages

    Wordsworth

    Uploaded by

    TheMatto
    This document provides context and analysis for three poems by William Wordsworth: "A Slumber did my spirit seal", "Daffodils", and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". It summarizes that "A Slumber did my spirit seal" describes a dream state that allows for poetry creation, "Daffodils" recounts the poet's experience seeing fields of daffodils and how it sparked his creative mind, and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" depicts a peaceful urban morning scene in contrast to Blake's portrayal of the same subject.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    A Slumber did my spirit seal (Lyrical

    Ballads)
    Context

    This poem is part of a collection called The Lucy


    Poems, written while he was in Germany with
    his sister Dorothy
    They all deal with the theme of the death of a
    loved one
    Its not clear who Lucy might be, though his
    friend and fellow poet, Coleridge, said that
    Wordsworth could have imagined the moment in
    which his sister might die

    Analysis
    A slumber did my spirit seal (slumbersleep;
    sealclose) : the poet refers to a dream, a state
    of mind in which creation of poetry is possible
    She seemedearthly years : She seemed to
    be eternal, immune to the passage of time
    No motionnor sees: The second stanza
    represents death, opposed to the first that
    describes the strength of live. Thats why the
    repetitive use of negatives (no, neither, no) No
    life, no existence
    Rolledtrees: The poet refers to Lucys
    present condition; she is now united with earth,
    nature.

    Daffodils
    Context
    This is probably Wordsworths most famous
    poem. It describes the experience of a walk the
    poet went for with his sister Dorothy, near Lake
    District.
    We also have Dorothys description of the day
    she spent there with his brother, taken from her
    diary.

    Analysis
    I wandered lonely as a cloud: the poets spirit
    is free
    Daffodils are personified: verbs and nouns used
    for people describe them (a crowd, dancing)
    Second Stanza: the flowers are compared to the
    stars and they are enormous in number (Ten
    thousand hyperbole)
    Third Stanza: another comparison is present,
    between the waves and the daffodils, which
    shine brighter than the water (They outdid the
    sparkling waves in glee).
    During such jocund vision, the poets mind is not
    active. He just wants to see and contemplate
    nature in its beauty, which makes him happy.
    Fourth Stanza: in the last few lines the poet
    defines the Recollection in Tranquility he
    mentioned in the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.
    He is lying on the couch in a pensive mood
    finally opening the minds eye (Inward eye).
    Even if he is far from the daffodils, he can still

    see their colour and this gives pleasure to his


    hearth: he can now start creating poetry.

    Composed upon Westminster Bridge


    Context

    Description of London: WARNING! Possible comparison


    with Blakes Poem.

    Analysis

    The peculiarity of this poem consists in the fact


    that Wordsworth describes an urban surrounding
    like a natural one.
    There are no people and this is quite different
    from Blakes description.
    The city is personified: its wearing The Beauty of
    the Morning
    It is silent and simple, its air is smokeless, without
    corruption its early in the morning and factories
    arent open yet.
    Inversion in line 9 (Never did sun) gives
    emphasis to the picture
    Calm, quietness are present and reign over
    everything
    River Thames is free Blake instead said that it
    was chartered
    Houses are personified The very houses seem
    asleep

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