Importance of the Daffodils as an Image from Nature (Book Review Sample)

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Daffodils by William Wordsworth
Importance of the Daffodils as an Image from Nature
“Daffodils” is a poem by William Wordsworth. Though simple in writing, it is one of the most famous and loveliest poems in Wordsworth canon. The poet revisits the theme of nature and memory using a simple spare merged in musical eloquence. There is a simple plot of the poem with the persona wandering through where he lands into a field of daffodils by the lake (1). The scenery provides a memory that comforts and pleases him when he is bored, lonely or restless. The choice of characters in the sudden occurrence of a memory “The daffodils” is psychologically acute. The main brilliance of the poem lies in the reverse personification used in the early stanzas. The technique provides an inherent unity between nature and man. It makes it one of the most effective and basic methods for making the reader involved in feeling and experiencing the captured mood, setting and intentions of Wordsworth (Shmoop Editorial Team, n.pag).
In addition, the poet uses daffodils as an important image to bring the aspect of nature and environment. As evidenced throughout Wordsworth’s work, the human mind is ultimately influenced by nature. From the biggest manifestations of the natural world such as mountains to the lowest and simplest representation such as flowers, they elicit noble, passionate emotions and elevated thoughts in the observers (Izzard, 62). He repeatedly emphasized the importance of nature to a person’s spiritual and intellectual development. A solid foundation in understanding and forming a good relation with nature helps one connect to social and spiritual worlds. The innate empathy and nobility of spirit in human beings is corruptible by social conventions and squalor of city life. The poet suggests that people who spend most of their time in nature can retain the nobility and purity of their souls that those who do not.
How and Why the Poem is a Romantic Poem
Daffodils is a romantic poem for a number of ways. The poet makes it very personal as it is characterized by immense use of personal pronouns making the reader own the poem in a more “personal” level. For example, at the beginning of the poem the persona claims that “I wandered” (1). He has provided a platform through which he expresses his inner feelings and emotions by using similes and metaphors in the poem “wandered as a cloud” (1). As he walked through the valleys and hills, he felt mopey and all lonely. When he came across the group of bright yellow daffodils, his emotions were replaced with joy. In the end, the persona finds more happiness when he thinks of the scenery the daffodils provided (Izzard, 64).
The romantic approach of Daffodils is easily captured by effective use of well-crafted terms by the poet to show the geographical environment and other physical features. Nature enables and captures the essence of human beings to connect with the social and physical surrounding creating a romantic atmosphere. In fact, most...