I don’t know exactly how and when my liking for poetry began. The seed of my love for Wordsworth and Byron must have been sowed during my collegiate days.

“The Daffodils” is one of the best poems that Ms Hue has introduced to us. Three years passed, but the poem has stayed in my mind since the morning she recited it in our English Literature class. It has made a great impression upon me. How regretful it would be if this poem were not recommended to to the poetry buff.

“The Daffodils” known as “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” is a famous poem written in 1804 by William Wordsworth. Daffodils is one of the most popular poems of the Romantic Age, unfolding the poet’s excitement, love and praise for a field blossoming with daffodils. It was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event, in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a “long belt” of daffodils on a walk near Ullswater Lake in England. This poem was first published in 1807, and a revised version was released in 1815.

I wander’d 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.

For oft, when on 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 heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Just reading the first verses, we can feel the time and space William wrote The Daffodils. The inspiration for this poem may have been drawn from a walk he took with his sister Dorothy around Lake Ullswater.

“I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills …
… Beside the lake, beneath the trees”

The poet was wandering in the forest and enjoying the fascinating nature around him, when suddenly he saw a crowd of golden daffodils by the lakeside. The daffodils appeared so beautifully that he was compelled to gaze at these flowers playing with pleasure in the wind.

His sister Dorothy later wrote in her journal as a reference to this walk: “I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever dancing ever changing…”

How glorious and plentiful these daffodils were! Maybe this was also the first time he had come across such an immense field of daffodils along the shore. It was impossible for us to count them, but the author could still feel how many flowers were stretching as far as the eye can see:

“Ten thousand saw I at a glance”… (Hyperbole)
“They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay…
The figures of simile and metaphor are also subtly used and it is not very hard for us to find them in the poem. The golden daffodils were compared to the stars shining and twinkling on the galaxy; and enjoying themselves in a happy dance.

“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way…” (Simile)
Though the lake’s sparkling waves danced beautifully, the daffodils seemed to do much better than them, in its pleasure.
“The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee”… (Comparison/Personification)

The poet felt happy and pleasant in the meanwhile to see golden flowers smiling in the sunshine. He put his loneliness aside and mingled with the beautiful sight. To him, the daffodil’s charm was a great gift and no fortune was as wonderful as the beauty granted by the God:
“I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought”… (Metaphor)
In the description of the daffodils, William used quite a lot of literary devices and it was these figures that helped us understand more about the vivid picture he draw and the way he connected with the nature.

“I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills…” (Simile)
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze…” (Personification)
“Tossing their heads in sprightly dance…” (Personification)

“The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee…” (Comparison/Personification)

Through characterized daffodils, we could find that nature had its own soul. William lifted him out of his soul and placed him in a higher state in which the soul of nature and the soul of man were united into a single harmony. Apparently, he felt dazed with so many daffodils around him and there was no limitation between his vision and the long belt of golden flowers.
Many years later, the daffodil’s beauty still haunted William. Whether he stayed in empty or thoughtful mood, the images of daffodils came to mind and flashed upon his inner eyes.
“They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude!” (Oxymoron)
The memory of the daffodils was etched in the author’s mind and soul to be cherished forever. When he was feeling lonely, dull or depressed, he thought of the daffodils and cheered up. These flowers seemed to be emerging before him, far and wide. Then his loneliness and sorrow seemed to vanish; and he desired to dance with the daffodils.
“And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”

The full impact of the daffodil’s beauty (symbolizing the beauty of nature) did not strike him at the moment of seeing them, when he stared blankly at them but much later when he sat alone, sad and lonely and remembered them. Thanks to the closing of the last stanza, we can get more reason why William wrote the poem. His impression at the daffodils would never fade in his mind, and it was the amazing motivation for him.
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye…”

We can point out that William’s state was changing in a slight way. He was not alone any longer, yet he probably thought that he would be stronger if he made a contrast between a lonely traveler and happy daffodils. This simple but effective way seems to take hold on us, and then each time we read this poem, we can see the harmonious beauty of the poet and the long belt of golden daffodils and enjoy their brightness.

This poem helps us get into our head how much love and admiration William gives to Nature. He would like to call us to come back to the nature and enjoy it. Moreover, at any rate William could make us realize that what we feel at the beauty of golden daffodils is the way they speak to us, via their own soul.
As for me, the Daffodils has touched my soul very deeply

MỘT VÀI CẢM NHẬN VỀ BÀI THƠ “HOA THỦY TIÊN”

Tôi không biết đích xác như thế nào và khi nào tôi bắt đầu đem lòng yêu thích thơ ca. Chắc hẳn những hat giống cho tình yêu Worsdsworth và Byron… đã được gieo trong những ngày của đời sinh viên của tôi.

“Hoa Thủy Tiên” là một trong những bài thơ hay nhất mà cô Huệ đã giới thiệu cho chúng tôi. Ba năm đã trôi qua, và bài thơ vẫn còn ở trong tâm trí tôi kể từ buổi sáng mà cô đọc cho chúng tôi trong giờ Văn học Anh. Bài thơ để lại trong tôi nhiều ấn tượng sâu sắc. Thật đáng tiếc nếu không giới thiệu bài thơ này đến bạn đọc yêu thơ ca.

“Hoa Thuỷ Tiên” còn được biết đến với tên khác “Tôi Phiêu Du Như Áng Mây Trôi” là một bài thơ nổi tiếng được William Wordsworth sáng tác năm 1804. Đây là một trong những bài được yêu thích nhất của thời kỳ văn học lãng mạn, thể hiện hứng thú, tình yêu, và chiêm ngưỡng của nhà thơ trước một cánh đồng rực rỡ Thủy tiên vàng. Bài thơ được lấy cảm hứng từ một sự kiện xảy ra ngày 15 tháng Tư năm 1802, khi Wordsworth cùng chị gái mình, Dorothy, tình cờ nhìn thấy một thảm hoa Thủy tiên nhân một cuộc dạo chơi gần hồ Ullswater. Bài thơ được giới thiệu lần đầu tiên năm 1807, và được tái bản năm 1815.

Như đám mây phiêu diêu đơn độc
Trôi bồng bềnh trên thung lũng, núi đồi
Ồ phía dưới trải dài khắp muôn nơi
Hoa Thuỷ tiên nở vàng rực rỡ
Bên bờ hồ, và bên dưới tán cây
Cùng thổi sáo, khiêu vũ với gió nhẹ

Viên Hy“