Comparing “The Daffodils” and “Miracle on St. David's Day”

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“The Daffodils” by William Wordsworth is a very well known poem which was written in 1803. It is written with a traditional style and has a flowing rhyme scheme which makes the poem flow well with a nice rhythm when red aloud. The writer describes in first person narrative the beauty and joy of nature as he is wandering beside a shoreline in the lake district. “Miracle on St David's Day” by Gillian Clarke is inspired by “The Daffodils” and was written around 1980, it contrasts the “The Daffodils” in style because it is deliberately made to flow unsteadily and confuse the reader which reflects the nature of the mental patients Gillian Clarke is describing. Gillian Clarke does this by the use of enjambment which means that a new stanza starts halfway trough a sentence. A reason for these contrasts could be the fact that Gillian Clarke's poem was written about 180 years later which means there are more contemporary ideas and styles. However since “Miracle on St David's Day was inspired by “The Daffodils” there are strong similarities in themes like, the beauty of nature and the power of memories which I will explain later on.

“The Daffodils” in short is William Wordsworth talking about a walk he goes on in the lake district and describes a wonderful, inspiring experience that he has by seeing the the daffodils. Towards the end the tense changes and he reflects on this experience and explains how this has brought him a lasting wealth, a memory which will stay with him forever and that brings great joy to remember.

In the first stanza Wordsworth describes how he is wondering on his own and explains the freedom and loneliness he has, then there is a change in pace and suddenly he sees an array of daffodils which he imagines to...

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...hniques used at the same time. For example metaphors are used like “open-mouthed”, this metaphor can give an image of yawning which adds to the calm peaceful atmosphere which is being created throughout this stanza. The use of “yellow” and “daffodils” also gives us nice images, the combination of peacefulness and beauty set a good scene for the poem. However there are some other meanings which are harder to pick up, in particular the reversals used. If we look to the last lines of the poem it says “we observe the flowers silence” this contrasts as the daffodils start “open-mouthed” and end silent (closed mouthed), this relates to the labourer man as at the start he has never spoken and towards the end he speaks for the first time. The use of this language foreshadows the forthcoming events and really adds the poignancy and interest this poem gives to the reader.

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