Beyond the Verse - Reflections of the Romantics: Wordsworth's 'I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud'

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Verse, the official podcast of PoemAnalysis.com and Poetry+, Joe takes us on a journey through the world of William Wordsworth’s beloved poem, 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,' also known as 'Daffodils.' Exploring the poem’s portrayal of nature’s serenity, Joe and Maiya delve into Wordsworth’s life, his connection to the Lake District, and how these elements shaped his vision of solitude and joy.They discuss the symbolism of the daffodils, the contrasts between solitude and bliss, and Wordsworth’s collaboration with his wife, Mary Hutchinson, uncovering her significant influence on the poem. The episode also offers insights into Romanticism, Wordsworth’s reflections on urbanization, and the lasting impact of Romantic ideals on modern literature.Get exclusive PDFs on 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' available to Poetry+ users:Full PDF GuidePoetry Snapshot PDFPoem Printable PDFwith Rhyme Schemewith Meter Syllableswith both Rhyme and MeterUse the code 'WORDSWORTH20' on the Poetry+ Checkout (Monthly/Yearly) to save 20% - applicable for the first 10 users.For more on Wordsworth’s works, visit PoemAnalysis.com, where you can explore extensive resources in our PDF Learning Library, explore a wide range of analyzed poems, with thousands of PDFs, and much more. For example, see the below relevant and useful PDF Guides:William Wordsworth PDF GuideRomanticism Movement PDF GuideTune in and Discover:The symbolic meaning of daffodils in RomanticismWordsworth’s vision of solitude and natureHow Mary Hutchinson contributed to the poemWhy Wordsworth’s work remains imSend us a textSupport the showAs always, for the ultimate poetry experience, join Poetry+ and explore all things poetry at PoemAnalysis.com.

I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high over veils and hills when all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils. Beside the lake beneath the tree, 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 jockoned company.

I gazed and gazed, but little thought what well-themed. the show to me had brought for oft when on my couch i lie in vacant or impensive mood they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude and then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils welcome to beyond the verse a poetry podcast brought to you by poemanalysis.com and poetry plus today we're discussing i wandered lonely as a cloud also known as daffodils by William Wordsworth. Thank you so much, Joe, for your reading at the start there of what is a very beautiful poem. Now, please can you tell us a little bit about Wordsworth? I'd love to. So William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland in 1770 and by the standards of his era lived a remarkably

long life. He died in 1850 at the age of 80 and for the last seven years of his life, he served as poet laureate. He is best known for launching the romantic era of poetry, in particular with his 1798 joint collection, lyrical ballads, which he co-authored with Samuel Taylor-Cooleridge. And this kind of massively redefines the scope of English literature and continues to have reverberations to this day. Now, this poem was written in 1804, inspired by a walk he took near his home in the Lake District in 1802. And I know, Maya, you're going to tell us a little bit more about this poem specifically. But the dates of this are important because it's after lyrical ballads. So Wordsworth was already beginning to develop a big reputation for himself. He was growing more financially secure,

he actually hadn't published any new material for a few years at this stage. So, Maya, why don't you tell us a little bit more about this poem specifically and why it's so important? So as Joe noted, this poem was written in 1804. It actually wasn't published in a collection until 1807. And this collection was called Poems in Two Volumes. This poem is widely regarded to be Wordsworth's most famous poem. Now, before the podcast, Joe and I were talking about how in 1995, this was actually voted the UK's fifth favourite poem. And I honestly believe that legacy has withstood the test of time.

This poem is one that gets quoted and re-quoted. That first opening line is one that even people who don't read poetry and don't enjoy poetry will probably know. Now, this is something that we're for sure going to dive into later in this podcast about this poem's legacy and how important it is in the grand scheme of the romantic era and to modern literature even now. As Do noted, this poem was written when Wordsworth was around 34 years old. It was really only six years after that shared publication, lyrical ballads. And where lyrical ballads had really created the romantic ideals and themes that Wordsworth really explores in this poem, I Wonded Lonely as a Cloud, really takes this to the next level.

Well, I think it's only right that we begin with those opening lines, because you're right, they are so famous, so iconic, and I think we need to give them their dues. as you mentioned, it is so famous, so iconic, and I think perhaps slightly surprising for readers and listeners who may have an idea of this poem is something that really celebrates the connection between mankind and nature, because that word lonely obviously is right with negative connotations, the idea that the cloud is a symbol of something isolated, something cut off from the natural world. And of course, that also evokes the physical separation between the earth and the sky. I mean, there was a sense here of being cut away from the natural

world and yet actually what we see throughout this poem is that this image becomes indicative of something that is an example of the union between man and nature, not the separation between them. And I think that's a really fascinating way to open a poem by perhaps slightly wrong footing your readers. But what do you think, Mara? I couldn't agree more. I think it is particularly interesting to start a poem that is meant to be about connection with that word lonely. I also really love what Wordsworth does here in the sense that he creates the feeling of aimlessly wandering by using the cloud as a symbol. Obviously, I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er veils and hills. You really get this sense that the poet and this cloud are direction as he parallels the

two of them. And I think actually that aimlessness and that really serves to evolve the character of this speaker because you begin to understand that they're actively seeking that isolation. It's something that brings them comfort they want to be removed from the trappings of the everyday world. One thing that's curious about this opening is the fact that we actually know the incident that inspired this poem. It was a walk with his sister Dorothy that happened two years prior in 1802. And obviously that context tells us that he wasn't alone. And again, that word lonely really speaks to something I think that's going to go on to really shape the rest of Wordsworth's career, especially with regard to his long and ultimately unfinished poem, the prelude, which is

that loneliness isn't necessarily linked to physical circumstance. You can be lonely in a crowd of people. You can be lonely when you're, you know, with loved ones. Likewise, you can feel as though you are not lonely, even if you are physically by yourself. It is a sort of a state of mind that's being captured here rather than a reflection of physical circumstance because we know that he was with other people on this walk. I think you do have to look at the physical detail as well, right? The scene that Wordsworth is creating here is not a deeply depressing, moody, cloudy sky. You really get the impression that there is one single cloud in what is otherwise a lovely day. And part of me does wonder whether Wordsworth is actually using that

to demonstrate that further. He's almost a compliment to that cloud. He is the single dark cloud in the otherwise bright sky. And I do feel in many ways, though, throughout this poem, it has beautiful language, some really gorgeous phrasing. He really manages to reimagine what it is to be lonely. On every rereading I have of this poem, I don't necessarily see him depicted as, you know, what we've discussed in some of our previous Q&A episodes, that sad, lonely poet stereotype that so often is rooted to this poem. But I really see him as someone who is enjoying that sense of isolation. Yeah, I agree. And I think, as you say, we mentioned on one of our early Q&A episodes, we talked a little bit about stereotypes and whether or not the sad, lonely

poet's stereotype is a fair one. So if listeners would like to hear more about that and other questions that we answered, I applaud them, to go and check out some of our previous Q&A episodes. But it's worth saying that Wordsworth is kind of one of the key figures of the romantic era from which many of those archetypes are derived. So Wordsworth perhaps is not the best example of the kind of sad lonely purpose. Certainly in terms of what a poet is, somebody who is often white, often male, and writes about the natural world, flowers and meadows and things. I mean, a lot of that derives back to Wordsworth. And I think, you know, other members of the romantic era would include people like John Keats, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coolidge, who I mentioned

earlier. And certainly some of those people really do fit the archetype. I mean, the likes of Keats, I think, when we consider what the tragic, young, heartbroken, depressed, cursed with talent, poet archetype, a lot of that is from him, and he was obviously hugely influenced by Wordsworth, although a little bit younger. So I think whenever you go and read these poems individually, what you realise, what I certainly reflect upon is the fact that stereotypes and archetypes almost always involves a blunting of the reality, right? You have to smooth over the edges, because when you actually go back and look at individual poems or individual poets even, they're obviously a lot more nuanced because individuals and individual pieces of our

work are more nuanced. It's only through hindsight. that you look back and assimilate various details between them to create an archetype. I mean, if an archetype or poet is somewhere between Byron Keats and Wordsworth, well, that's a pretty big range of people already to attempt to triangulate. No, because you are right. And it's always interesting to look, I think, particularly at this period, where you have pretty solid wealth of poets to look at who are all influenced and influencing each other. This is a poem that is increasingly difficult to analyze in isolation. So I think we've got a job ahead of us for this episode, I must say.

But it adds so much to this poem that you can look at it alongside other poets who were inspired by Wordsworth or poets who were even just writing in those same circles. As we say, one of his most famous works was a co-written publication. It was a co-written collection. That cannot be understated. I agree completely. And I think it would be remiss of us when reading a poem like this not to consider the importance of that context, but also the geographical context.

I mean, this is a poem and a poet very closely associated with a particular place. And maybe we'll touch upon that as we look at the next few lines and I'll just read them. So the first stanza continues, 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. And one of the things that I really enjoy about the final lines of that opening stanza is we kind of get a real sense of the breadth of this landscape. we begin on high, almost looking down upon the valley from the vantage point of the cloud, but very quickly we get immersed in the sort of the reality on the ground there. So we've got the daffodils, of course, the defining image of this poem.

But we also have the lake, the trees, the wind. We really get a sense of being on this walk with Wordsworth. And the reference to the lake in particular, I think is really important because this poem was written during the years in which Wordsworth was living in the late district in what is now called Dove Cottage, which I visited, and it's open to the public. The words with trust to set up a museum there, which I implore listeners. If you are in the area, or if you're planning a trip to a lay a street, to go and see the house because it's a really, you know, unique way into getting an insight into this man.

So he lived in Dove Cottage between 1799 and 1808, so post the publication of lyrical ballads, but while he was writing some of his most important work, he was beginning drafts of the prelude there. He obviously wrote this poem and others. So it's a really interesting way of kind of gleaning an insight into him. But of course, with any great artist who is particularly associated with a particular place, the relationship is symbiotic. So the lakes provided a really important source of inspiration for Wordsworth, none more so than in this poem. But naturally, when you have somebody who writes back against that place so famously, our conception of the lakes is informed by his writing.

So the relationship between them in hindsight is really symbiotic. They inspired him, but in turn, he defines the way in which those places are known to a lot of people who have never. visited them and even many people who still live there. So I think that relationship can't be overstated, the importance of physical place in the writing of this poem. And I know, Maya, that, you know, you wanted to touch upon the contrast, perhaps, with the way that modern readers might look at those scenes of nature, how that might actually be different for readers in 1804 versus readers for 2024. Absolutely. It's one of those criticisms that's leveled at the Romantics. A lot of the time, in that they have this real idealisation of natural landscapes.

That is part and parcel of what it means to be a romantic poet. I personally don't think that's a problem. I think it is so central to the genre that you can't escape that. However, I personally believe that the reason that this is criticised so often is that in the modern world, we do have a very different conception of what it means to be in the countryside, especially in the UK. You know, we have vastly improved transport links. Though we live in urban cities, take London, for example, there is a more so now than ever to include green spaces, to make sure that people feel as if they're living cleanly.

This was not the case in this 1900. You're looking at a period of rapid industrialisation. There are thousands of poems written specifically about how dirty and disgusting London was. Wordsworth actually grew up and studied in Cambridge, which was very much within commuting distance of London. So we cannot understate how important it was at the time to be in an urban landscape, in a city, in which dirt and grime and filth and smoke filled the air. I don't want to fall into that trap of saying everywhere was horrible, but there was certainly a different level of things like cleanliness, a different concept of what it meant to be out in the open air. For many people who lived in those urban areas at the time, retreating to the countryside would have actually. provided a very different way of life. Now Wordsworth encapsulates this so beautifully in this poem in that you're not just taking a step away from maybe the more physical elements,

you know, the dirt and the illness, but also the crowding. You know, these places were so overpopulated. Housing was different. The streets looked different. There were markets lining every street as opposed to your modern conception of shops. We are so far removed from what it would have been like at that time that I think what Wordsworth does really brilliantly here is really emphasize how the countryside provided an escape. And that is what I always find with this because you're right, the Lake District for so many people that live in the UK is seen as this real jewel. It's an escape. It's peaceful. It's tranquil. It's quiet. And so many people, even people that have never been before, spend a large portion of their lives saying, oh, it's on my bucket

list to go to the Lake District. I can't wait to go. I'm going to have a rural retreat. And Wordsworth was so instrumental in creating that vision. But I really find that contrast is drawn out by Wordsworth in that third line that you read. All at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils. He leads you into believing that there might be a crowd of people arriving. But instead, it's this plethora of golden daffodils, this symbol of nature, of vitality of the country. Now, what effect does that have, Joe? First of all, I want to touch upon the fascinating point you just made. It's not something I'd really considered because, again, we all fall into the traps of universalising our own experience and projecting that back.

And even today, we tend to think in somewhat binary terms about urban and rural spaces. But you're absolutely right, Meyer. It's important to note that compared to the urban spaces of the early 19th century, our urban spaces are phenomenally green, clean, easy to move through. I mean, I was in one of London's parks last spring, and there was a great variety of daffodils. And, you know, you could see over the hills and over the meadows, even though you were in an urban space, that access to nature, which we take for granted in many sort of developed cities in Europe and elsewhere wouldn't have been the case. So you're absolutely right to think that for wordsworth, it would have been far more of a dichotomy between rural life and urban life. and that escape is something that we perhaps can't fully comprehend in the 21st century.

But just touching on the daffodils that you mentioned, for any listeners who might not be aware or might perhaps not live in places where daffodils grow, daffodils are yellow flowers normally. They come from the Narcissus family. And they're generally associated with new life and with the early stages of springs. But I love the point you make about, again, words were slightly wrong footing us, that hint that we're about to be introduced to people only to be introduced. used to the wall of flowers. And I think that word a host is fascinating because it works on

so many levels. Now, a host has a slightly archaic use to mean an army, so that we could read that line as an army of flowers. And on the one hand, that could emphasize the scale, the, you know, the sheer number of individual flowers that you can see. But of course, that word host, generally speaking, has far more positive connotations of welcome. You host somebody in your home. You watch TV and you see your familiar television host, that association with something warm, something familiar, something that we can rely on. So I think it's a really lovely way of introducing this flower that's going to go on to define the poem in many respects, because immediately we feel, on the one hand, welcomed into this scene, but also we get the sense of scale because

of the archaic use of the word host. I think that's a brilliant point. And actually something I'm not really considered about that word a host, you immediately feel the warm thing. of those. I think that colour golden even further emphasises just how bright and welcoming and light the speaker feels by comparison. I do think it's interesting though you mentioned that the daffodil comes from the Narcissus plant because, for listeners you aren't aware, the tale of the Narcissus plan actually comes from Greek mythology. Narcissus was a character who was widely regarded as incredibly handsome and actually in Greek myth there is a narrative that says he spent so long staring at his own reflection

that he fell in love with himself and was turned into a flower by the waterside as a punishment. He had to continue to stare at himself for the rest of his life. Now, I think when we're looking at the romantic ideals within this poem and how so often romantic poetry uses nature as a form of self-expression, I think it's really interesting that Wordsworth uses a narcissus plant, a narcissist's flower, to reflect his own intentions, I think it really speaks to something we're going to talk about later on in the poem,

which is that the lines between the human world and the natural world do get blurred here. And if we just take that example of Narcissus, when Narcissus admires his own reflection, is he truly admiring himself or is he admiring the way that his beauty is mediated through nature? And that line becomes really blur. I mean, we don't want to make this a philosophy seminar. That could be a whole other thing. But again, what we find in this poem is something really similar. There is no sort of moment of physical reflection, nothing as direct as that.

What we have here is a speaker who is viewing themselves, who is exploring elements of their own personality through the lens of nature. And ultimately, those things get conflated over the course of the poem. And I always find that there's a real difference between the way in which you're introduced to the speaker and the way in which you're introduced to the daffodils. Now, we've already discussed how the speaker occupies

a little bit more of a transient relationship to the nature that they're walking in. they understand themselves to be a little bit looser. They are not as grounded or as centred. The daffodils, by contrast, are everywhere, and they are grounded. I always love that when you read this poem, you understand the sense of scale because you get that panoramic view, right? Beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Although they have this sense of movement and scale,

you do understand that they are inherently part of that landscape. And by contrast, the speaker doesn't feel like that. Just one more thing on daffodils and the etymology of the word. The word itself is actually generally agreed to derive from the word Asphodel, which in itself is another type of flower, but also has associations with Greek mythology, in particular the Greek underworld. And I think this really captures something slightly unusual about the flower

and also the poem itself, which is that the daffodil, despite being a symbol of spring and therefore growth and new life, is also commonly associated with death. It's a flower commonly associated with lots of different cancer charities. And of course, as I've just mentioned, that mythological grounding is very much related to death in the underworld. And as you mentioned about Narcissus, narcissus is turned into a flower after his death.

So this relationship between new life, on the one hand, in spring and death, and it touches on one of the things about this poem that I find most interesting, which is that relationship between brevity on the one hand and per. permanence on the other. So if we just move forward onto the next standard, which begins continuous as the stars that shine, and I think that's a really fascinating image, because what Wordsworth is doing is he's taking a symbol of permanence, the stars in the sky. Now, of course, physicists will tell us that the stars in the sky are not permanent, but relative to human life, we can see why they would be a symbol of permanence. They exist for thousands, if not millions

of years. To take that symbol and to transpose it onto a daffodil, which is a flower. associated with a very particular time of year that will not live year round. It will die. In many ways, daffodils kind of represent a real sense of brevity and fragility of life. They appear and they die relatively quickly is a really interesting way of kind of accessing what Wordsworth is trying to do here. Because it's important to know that this entire poem, it takes the form of a memory. This is not something that's happening right now. So for me, that relationship between brevity, fragility on the one hand, and permanence on the other speaks to something about the way we experienced the natural world because on the one hand, our relationship to nature is fleeting, not only because

the seasons change and the plants die, but also because we ourselves change and age and eventually perish. But the memories that those experiences yield ultimately last forever. And of course, when you put those memories in a written form or a painting, they last for future generations as well. So I think our relationship between the finite nature of those flowers, the finite nature of the speaker's life, but the permanence that memories and artistic depictions of nature create is one of the key tensions in the permanent. It's one of the things I find brilliant about it. I absolutely agree. I think it's one of the more fascinating comparisons that Wordsworth makes in this poem. I also really want to explore that sense of continuity. You know, you raise very rightly that the stars, yes,

to a human life, may seem like they are permanent and daffodils are not. They are something that is cyclical. But also, let's not forget, the stars aren't present throughout the day. They disappear and reappear every single night. Now, in my understanding, what Wordsworth is also trying to recall here is that this memory is one that does the same. It recurs to him 24-7. He is constantly thinking about it. He even says in his final stanza, for oft when on my couch I lie in vacant or impensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye. That means he is actively sitting there and recalling this memory in order to feel the sense of peace he felt when he was there. This adds to the power of the poem, because not only is he recalling a peaceful moment, but he is telling you that

it gives him so much comfort that he will continue to recall it almost for the rest of his life. So, Maya and I would love to talk about Wordsworth and the other romantic poets for hours and hours on end, but of course, we cannot do that on the podcast. But if listeners want to learn more about Wordsworth, Keats, Byron, Shelley, any of the other romantic poets, the movement itself, any of the forms they used, they can sign up for a Poetry Plus subscription at pomeanalysis.com. There are thousands of resources available targeted for all levels of poetry, whatever your interest in the subject. So we are very happy to announce that people who are listening to this episode can go to

the website now and use the code Wordsworth 20 to get 20% off either monthly or yearly subscriptions to poetry plus. Now, only the first few people to use this code will get access to it. So make sure, as soon as you finish this episode, go to Permanalysis.com, use the code Wordsworth 20 for 20% off, poetry plus, and we cannot wait to see you there. Back to the podcast. Welcome back to the second half of this podcast. Now, we're opening this section with a fun fact. In the final stanza, Wordsworth writes, they flash upon that inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude.

And the they in those lines refers to the pleasant memories that Maya mentioned before the break. The interesting thing about these lines is that actually those two lines were written by Wordsworth's wife, Mary Hutchkins. And he said they were the best lines in the poem. And I'd just like to linger, first of all, on the lines himself, and then perhaps talk a little bit about the significance of the fact that he himself did not write them. Now, the lines themselves, I think, I'm not sure I entirely agree with words as though the best in the poem, but they're some of the most interesting. That line, which ends, flash upon the inward eye. Now, the inward eye is a really interesting way of thinking about memory and thinking about creative expression. I mean, in many ways, I actually think this image almost leaps forward more than 200 years and could be applied to kind of surrealist imagery in the way that the surrealist considered artistic expression, that idea of the inward eye is a kind of mediation.

between lived conscious experience and unconscious experience and memory, and that's where creativity lies. I think there's a really interesting way of thinking about those things. But the line, which is the bliss of solitude, I think ties the poem together really beautifully because it links back to that first line, lonely as a cloud, which as we mentioned, read in isolation could actually be a negative expression, but this line specifies that solitude can be a source of joy as well as a source of pain or sadness. The fact that his wife wrote those lines, I love that this could be a mediation of creative expression. Now, one of the things that Joe and I discussed before this podcast

is one of Wordsworth's very famous sayings. He says that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions. Now, that claim, I think, sits quite boldly in contrast to the one in this poem. Because I look at that, and if it was written by his wife, I understand that line to almost be a witnessing of the way in which Wordsworth creates poetry. For someone who maybe doesn't write or isn't creative in that sense, to watch someone write and create such a stunning piece of work must seem like quite a quiet and internal endeavor. But for Wordsworth, he doesn't feel that way. He feels like

poetry for him is just an expression of everything he's feeling. It seems more of an overspill or an overflowing of creative energy. But once it pointed out that his wife wrote these lines, I think they do sit in quite stark contrast to the rest of this poem. They're a little bit more abstracted. They're certainly less understanding of that direct connection between the memory and the speaker. So I love the idea that perhaps she's viewing him in a completely different way than he's viewing himself. I certainly think that adds a layer of richness to this poem that you probably wouldn't otherwise have if it was solely mediated by one person. Absolutely. And it touches on something that I think is not particularly well understood in kind of literary history

and literary world, which is the importance of people's friends and spouses in the editing process and in the writing process. And unfortunately, you know, if we look at some prominent examples, What we often see is male writers who perhaps don't credit their wives or girlfriends or friends for the role they played in artistic production. So a couple of sort of recent prominent examples that have come to light is it seems as though large sections of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, including the novel The Great Gatsby, may well have actually been written by Zelda, his wife. And the problems that you have with regard to keeping praise upon these individuals, usually men, and completely ignoring the impact. In many ways, the very direct impact, the contribution of entire lines, as we see in this poem, and perhaps in the case of Zelda as well, we find these women being written out of literary history and the role that they played not only as editors, but in many ways as co-authors has been lost. And I think that in many ways that has been used to kind of perpetuate the idea of male artistic individual torture genius when actually what we know of the way these relationships often have worked in reality. was that they were deeply collaborative.

So I think it's important not only to flag the way in which Mary Hutchinson's contributions differ from Wordsworth's poem in tone the way that Myers just explored, but also just to point them out in their own writing to say that actually some of the best lines in this poem, Wordsworth himself admitted, were not written by him and perhaps we should be thinking about this poem as a co-authored piece. And perhaps slightly controversially, let's not forget that he wrote his own sister out of this memory. he's exploring a situation in which a walk with family

is probably one of the most treasured experiences you can have and yet when he recalls the memory, his sister is nowhere to be seen. I'm trying to go back to something at Maya mentioned a little bit earlier on that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions and I think this chimes really instantly with that kind of tension I mentioned earlier on between brevity and permanence because that word spontaneous speaks to an immediacy, an urgency,

that when inspiration strikes, you should write it down. And as I mentioned earlier on, this almost feels more akin to something you might expect to read in a surrealist manifesto, the idea of that immediacy, that idea of not rationalising creativity, but simply expressing it as it appears. It's really interesting because it doesn't seem particularly appropriate for Wordsworth, because what we know of this poet is that this was a guy who relentlessly edited and revised and mediated on his own experiences. I mean, this poem, for example, we've mentioned it was based on a way.

walk he took in 1802, not written for two years. I mean, it's not a long poem. He didn't sit down to write it for over two years. It then wasn't published for a further three, and it was actually republished in a revised version in 1815. This idea of the spontaneity of expressions feels at odds with him as a poet in the way that he worked. I mean, the most prominent example I mentioned at the top of the episode that he lives a quite remarkable long life for 80 years. He was working on a version of the prelude, which remained unfinished to his death, for over. over 50 years. That doesn't strike me as particularly spontaneous. But I wonder, you know, is there anything to read into that relationship between spontaneity and revision? Is there a

contradiction there or am I missing something? I think the fact he worked on a poem for over 50 years and still didn't finish it is quite frankly crazy. But I must say, I think what Wordsworth does brilliantly is managed to capture perhaps the spontaneity of the moment. But also, this poem is so well-formatted, it is rhymed A, B, C.C. Generally, when you look at poets, as you say, within the surrealist genre, when you look at people who do potentially write more so in the moment, it tends to be free verse. We don't naturally talk in rhyme. Yes, perhaps we have a natural cadence and a natural meter that you can replicate across multiple poems, but rhyme is not something that naturally comes to you as a speaker, never mind as a poet. Now, I think it's

fascinating to look at a poet who so evidently claims that these are spontaneous choices, when actually rhyme itself is a tool, it's a skill. And though I don't doubt for a second that Wordsworth was an incredibly established poet by this point, he was probably able to preempt his stylistic choices. But I don't doubt for a second that this went through three, four, five revisions, but perhaps slightly in contrast to that. But I must admit, I'm hesitant to critique him on that point because what he does so brilliantly, as I said before, is capture the spontaneity of the moment. For any listeners who haven't read the prelude or any of its extract, there is boat stealing on the site. So go to poemanalysis.com and check that out. It is one of the

most impressive poems in the enormity of the feeling that it describes. You really have the sense of immediate and striking power. Now, I think Wordsworth's manifesto in poetry being the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions. Yes, it's maybe just a very literary way of saying that he has learned how to mediate emotions in the moment and create a scene. Do I think it didn't go through revisions? No. I think you're right. And I think actually just as you were speaking, I suppose one thing, if we were looking to be generous to wordsworth and to hold him to his own definition of poetry, I suppose it's perfectly possible to imagine the fact that the spontaneous his overflow of emotions don't need to be at the point of seeing the flowers. It could be at the moment

the memory struck him, struck that inward eye that we mentioned earlier on. At that moment, he felt the need to go back and to write or revise. I mean, there's no reason at all that revision can't be a spontaneous thing either. So I think let's be generous to Wordsworth and to say that he's not contradicting himself with his many revisions. But back to the perm itself, I'd just like to jump a couple of stanzas back, actually, and look at the end of standard two. So again, this stanza, which is describing the flowers. And he says, 10,000 saw eye at a glance tossing their heads in a sprightly dance. And I think I'd like to focus on that last line of particular, because obviously on the one hand, he's simply personifying the flowers by saying

that they're dancing. And I think what this does is it brings that consolation I mentioned earlier on into focus. Because if you think about the way this poem begins, it begins with a human figure likening themselves to something in the natural world. So almost dragging themselves toward nature on that kind of spectrum. What we have here is the other way around. We have nature being personified, nature being imbued with human characteristics with personality, almost suggesting that nature is again moving in the other direction closer to mankind.

And the reason I'd like to focus on that is because I think the poem's conclusion sees that union finally achieved. If we look at the final lines of the poem and then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils, We have that sense of a human figure in the poem and the natural scenes in the perm, having kind of met in the middle. And they seem to be able to experience the same thing simultaneously. And obviously we have that repetition again of the personification, the flowers dancing, but we also have the way in which the heart is described as being with pleasure fills. And I almost imagine that to be like a pool of water, perhaps, or like a stream.

What we have once again is the human appears more like nature to the point where they almost become indistinguishable in those last two lines. And I think it's such a beautiful way of ending the poem. I'd love to get your thoughts on that relationship more broadly or the end of the poem, whichever you'd like. I think you can absolutely take even the final two lines of each stanza, to be honest, and explore that journey as the human comes closer and close to nature and nature comes close to the human. Just to briefly reiterate the couplets that end the four stanzas that make up this poet.

Beside the late beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze, that's Sanzer 1. 10,000 saw eye at a glance, tossing their heads, in Sprightly Dance. That's two. I gazed and gazed but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought. And then it closes with, then my heart with pleasure filled and dances with the daffodils. Now, even taking these alone, you really understand that it feels as if this world is closing in on itself a little bit. At first, you have this speaker who seems very separate from the scene. They are simply witnessing. And with each closing couplet, you get a little step closer.

He goes from seeing a fluttering and dancing, but not really understanding the specific movements, to a sprightly dance. This is even bigger. This is more bold. This is a louder sense of movement to then describing it as a show, something that has been put on for him, something that he has engaged in. And not only that, but in the closing couplet, he becomes a part of that show, a part of those daffodils. Now, I really love that progression. And I think the rhyme scheme lends itself to that as well, because you are going. from something that has a very regular rhythm, A, B, C, C.

There is such a natural way in which this poem evolves, and it makes it really concrete by the end that you understand the completion that the speaker feels as well. It becomes even more apparent, because if you look at the first four lines, A, B, you have alternating rhymes, that idea of contrast, but also perhaps interlocking. And if we look at the A and the B as being representative, perhaps, of mankind and nature, they are next to each other, but they're not the same. they are interlocking but they're clearly distinct.

To end each sanza with a CC with a couplet implies the union is kind of complete, they have become indistinguishable from one another. And especially when you look at that last stanza, I mean, one thing that I think is always worth noting in rhymed poems is to look at those end words because they are the ones that leave you with the strongest impression, they leave you with the biggest impact. Now, that opening stanza has cloud, hills, crowd, daffodils, trees, breeze. You are inundated by natural imagery.

contrast when we get to the final stanza and the speaker is exploring how they mediate on memory and emotion you have lie mood eye solitude these are things that are very physical very human and yet that closing coupler fills and daffodils you are completely drawn in by the natural world in spite of having these human emotions and i think as we often do on this podcast be nice just to reflect on the poem's place in literary history and where it kind of takes work to us so as we mentioned actually in a recent episode we did on Ed Graham and Pose the Raven, which again, if listeners haven't checked it out, I suggest you go and do so because it was a really interesting conversation. The relationship between a piece of work and its critical response is something

that never ceases to interest me. This poem was actually fairly poorly reviewed, as was the collection it was published in when it was first released. In fact, you know, continuing the point we made earlier on about not wishing to oversimplify what a romantic poet is or what a poet is, Lord Byron, one of Wordsworth's fellow romantic poets, actually was extremely critical of this collection. So it's another example of critics not always, perhaps, judging poetry correctly at the time, as much as any judgment on poetry can be correct. Because, I mean, the afterlife this poem's had is absolutely remarkable. Not only, as I said, that it greatly informs kind of the public consciousness when it comes to places like the Lake District, but also in a poetic sense, many artists have been influenced by this. It remains hugely popular with readers.

Maya mentioned earlier on the 1995 poll that had it as the UK's fifth favourite poem. But to bring it right up to the present day, of course, this poem is very strongly evoked in Taylor Swift's most recent album, in which there is a song called The Lakes, in which she says, and I quote, take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die. So this idea of this poem and others in Wordsworth Canon having this rich afterlife that permeate the kind of poetic community, the academic community, general reader. and, you know, songwriters up to the present day, demonstrates its enduring strength and quality.

I think only further exacerbated by his later poems as well, you know, Wordsworth's legacy is defined by a changing relationship to nature too. The prelude, as I mentioned before, is a real demonstration of power. And just to read a few lines from that that directly, really contrast, I Wonded Lonely as a Cloud, which has this very kind of light and ethereal feeling to it. These few lines from the perlude are, by contrast, dark and looming. With an unswerving line, I fixed my view upon the summit of a craggy ridge. The horizon's utmost boundary, far above was nothing but the stars and the grey sky.

She was an elfin pinnus. Lustily, I dipped my oars into the silent lake, and as I rose upon the stroke, my boat went heaving through the water like a swan. There is a real difference between these two, and I think if you're going to explore Wordsworth, please go on to the site, explore all of his work from start to finish. You will see an incredible bounty of work

from poems that mediate on nature as it reflects on one's innocence. You will see poems like the prelude that have this really dark turn. As Joe mentioned, Wordsworth had a very long life for poets at the time, for people at the time. He had a body of work that we are so lucky to have because it explores how so many of these poets who perhaps died at a younger age

might have gone on to write. Now Wordsworth's relationship to nature was continuously changing and I love that he actually creates such a different view on what the romantic genre was from its moment of conception to how it ended. But unfortunately that is all we have time for today. Thank you so much, Joe, for such a fascinating conversation on a poem that has had such an incredible legacy. Now, next week, we are actually touching on something we explored today, which is urbanisation. We are looking at William Blake's The Tiger. Now, I can't wait for that. But for now, it's goodbye from me. And goodbye for me and the whole team at Permanalysis.com and poetry plus.