Analysis of I wondered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

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William Wordsworth
(1770-1850)

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

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
Outdid 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 in 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 hearth with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Analysis:

Wordsworth had nature as his religion, and that was the main theme of his work and also a characteristic of romanticism. And it’s also very clear on this poem.

As literary devices, we have Alliteration on the second line of the first stanza, alliteration and assonance on the fifth line of the first stanza and personification on the last line of the first stanza.
On the second stanza, we have a simile on the first line, inversion on the eleventh line and personification on the last line.
On the third stanza, we have assonance, alliteration and repetition of the word “waves” on the first line, and again repetition on the seventeenth line.
On the forth stanza, we have antithesis on the twentieth line and a metaphor on the twenty-first line. We also have alliteration on the last line.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1772-1834)

Part II of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the carne he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.

And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners' hollo!

And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay
That made the breeze to blow!

Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay, ...

... middle of paper ...

...ne shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face,
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.

Lord byron’s poems are colorful, vigorous, with their romantic pictures of castles aned prisions, mountains and sea, involving nature, that is a romantic characteristic. This specific poem is about perfection.

Analysis:

On the first stanza, we have a metaphor and a simile on the first line. On the second line, we have alliteration and assonance. We have antithesis and alliteration on the third line. We have alliteration on the fifth and sixth lines.
On the second stanza, we have antithesis and assonance on the first line. We have alliteration and assonance on the second and third lines and we have alliteration on the fourth, fifth and sixth lines.
On the third stanza, we have repetition on the first and second lines and alliteration on the second line.

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