Question

Read the poem and answer the question.

[1]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;
[5]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
[10]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
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
[15]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
[20]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 uses the word "dance" throughout his poem. In a paragraph of 3-5 sentences, analyze how the poet uses "dance" in stanzas 1 and 4. Who is dancing in these two stanzas? In each instance, what does the use of the word "dance" reveal about Wordsworth's view of nature?

Answer 1

The daffodils are dancing! Not literally, of course, since this is personification. Wordsworth sees nature as beautiful and light, like how a dancer would be. It shines light on the good of the world, in the form of making something as non-human as a flower have more human qualities.

Step-by-step explanation:

By "human qualities" I mean things like dancing, singing, holding objects, talking, whispering, etc.