Poetry Project Essay

Loneliness often carries negative connotations, but sometimes being alone can allow people to find great pleasure in simple experiences. The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” epitomizes the idea of beauty that can be found in solitude. Throughout the poem, Wordsworth uses rhyme scheme, personification, and hyperbole to construct a tone of joy and bliss, proving that loneliness does not have to induce sorrow, and that the simple experiences that are found when one is alone can provide great delight.

Throughout the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” the author uses a constant
ABABCC pattern, also referred to as Venus and Adonis stanza. The rhyme scheme helps portray the tone of bliss and joy, through the similar, easygoing tone of the words that rhyme. In stanza two, Wordsworth rhymes the word “Shine” with the phrase "never ending line." The word
“shine” conveys the tone of exuberance and beauty, which helps to develop the emotions of the speaker when he catches sight of the daffodils and no longer feels lonely. When combined through rhyme scheme with the phrase “never ending line,” the reader can see that this simple experience of discovering the field of daffodils will remain in his memory forever, and allow the happiness he found to live on, just like a “never ending line.” Also, in stanza three, the words
“glee” and “company” rhyme through the ABABCC rhyme scheme. The entire poem focuses around the idea of loneliness, but when the speaker discovers the beauty of nature, he no longer feels alone, and the alluring flowers are all he needs to keep him “company.” Because the words
“glee” and “company” are both connected through rhyme, the delight that the speaker feels once he discovers this company is further developed. All that he needs to be happy is the beauty of nature around him, and the connection of the joyful words through rhyme scheme portrays this concept wonderfully.

Throughout the poem, personification is woven in a multitude of times to express the joy the speaker receives from nature. The speaker personifies flowers in the phrase “dancing with the daffodils.” In reality, daffodils cannot actually dance, but their “action” is meant to express the contentment that the speaker feels at the sight of the golden flowers. The speaker finds such joy from nature that it is as though even inanimate objects (the flowers) are celebrating and dancing with delight. He does not feel the need to be surrounded by other people in order to conceive joy.
Shortly after, line thirteen states, “the waves beside them danced.” The speaker previously felt isolated from the world, but now the speaker looks out into nature and does not feel lonely; he feels as though even the waves are keeping him company. He begins to notice all of the movement in nature that surrounds him, and this is what starts to give him the happiness that he was previously lacking, even though in reality he is no less alone than he was before. Joy comes from perception, and if they are perceived well, then even simple experiences can provide gratification. Imagery is heavily present throughout the poem, and it often builds the theme of finding delight in being alone. In the first line of the poem, there is an interesting use of imagery
(through a simile) to depict the speaker’s emotions. The speaker says, “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” The tone that is associated with the image of a cloud can be light and uplifting,

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