Question

What does William Wordsworth mean by "Continuous as the stars that shine" in the following bolded lines? (5 points) 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 a sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did 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 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. Wordsworth preferred stars to flowers. Wordsworth had been studying space. The daffodils seemed to go on forever. The daffodils were as white as stars.

Answer 1

Wordsworth preferred stars to flowers.

Answer 2

Wordsworth is comparing the daffodils to stars, showing that he thinks the daffodils have brightened his life similar to way that stars brighten the sky. He refers to how they are continuous as there are many of them similar to the many stars. The stars could also refer to an ' out of this world' feeling he gets when he sees the daffodils.