The Daffodils by Wordsworth - -Short and Objective answers (2)

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The Daffodils by Wordsworth

(Short and Objective answers)

1. Who has been referred to as ‘I’ in the first line of the extract? Where do you think was he
wandering?
The poet William Worthsworth is referred to as 'l' in the first line of the extract .He was wandering all
alone in the woods of the Lake District.
What does the poet encounter while wandering? Where does he encounter them?
The poet encountered a large number of golden daffodils. They grew beneath the trees along the
edge of a lake.
2. Why do you think the poet refers to the daffodils as golden?
The daffodils look golden under the rays of the radiant and sparkling sun.
3. 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.
4. 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,”
The poet has used hyperbole. He saw a host of daffodils, which means there were nearly ten
thousand of them. It is an exaggeration/hyperbolic expression. He might have seen a few hundred of
them.

5. How are the daffodils compared to the stars?


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.
6. What is the milky way? Why is it referred to in the extract?
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.
7. What is meant by the margin of the bay?
The margin of the bay means the edge of the lake.
8. State how the technique of using exaggeration heightens the poetic effect in the extract?
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.
9. How did the daffodils outdo the waves?
The daffodils were more vibrant than the waves. The daffodils danced and fluttered and tossed their
heads while the waves just rippled and sparkled.
10. What is meant by jocund company? Which jocund company is the poet referring to? Why
does the poet find it jocund?
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.
11. Which wealth is referred to by the poet? Explain how the wealth was brought to the poet?
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.
12.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
highly influential. It made him happy too.
13. 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.
14. What is the ‘bliss of solitude’ referred to in the extract? How does the bliss of solitude
take place?
The bliss of solitude 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.

15. Explain the transition from poet’s pensive mood to his heart filled with joy.
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 daffodlils 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.
16. With reference to the last two lines of the extract, state the influence that nature can have
over an individual’s mind.
Nature is a healer. It is like a nurse. It gives comfort and solace. It removes sad and unhappy
thoughts and fill our hearts with hope and joy.
17. Wordsworth says that poetry is “the overflow of feelings arising from emotions
recollected in tranquility.’ In this context, state how the poem shows the truth of his
statement.
Wordsworth idea of poetry is that it originates from the overflow of feelings, recollected in tranquility.
This means that the poet observes some object. It sets off powerful emotions in his mind. The poets
let them sink into his mind. At a later moment, he recollects those emotions in tranquility 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
tranquility) he recollected that scene. He felt the bliss again and the result is this poem.

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