Aesthetic Experience Gained by Wordsworth in His Poem "I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud"

"I wondered lonely as a cloud" is one of the most famous poems written by William Wordsworth. He was inspired to write this poem by a real experience of seeing daffodils while having a walk with his sister in Lake Street, in England.

Wordsworth has used a very simple language in this poem that any ordinary man can understand without much effort. He has also used a huge variety of auditory and visual images. The poet has paid attention to two of the senses, namely, sight and hearing. Thus, using these senses he makes a beautiful scene of golden daffodils in readers' mind and lets the reader to share the aesthetic experience gained by him.

In the opening lines of the poem, the poet says

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats o'er vales and hills"

What is implied by the poet by the above lines is that his mind was very relaxed and serene at that time. He has compared himself to a cloud which freely floats in the bluish sky. There are two types of clouds, the pure white clouds which appear during nice, warm weather and the black clouds which appear before a heavy pouring. Therefore, the reader should also pay attention to think whether this is a black cloud that he has compared himself to, or whether it is a white cloud. According to the rest of the lines of the poem, the reader could understand that it is a white cloud since the poet says that it freely floats. Thus this is a very powerful visual image inspiring the reader to see the picturesque scene by the poet's eye. In other words, the reader can visualize himself as a cloud floating in the sky, and he would be able to appreciate much of the poem depending on the manner he looks into the imagery presented.

"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"

In accordance with the above extracted lines, the daffodils are compared to a crowd. A crowd means a thousand of living human beings, therefore we can say that the poet has personified the daffodils to humans. This becomes a powerful visual image as it presents the liveliness of the beautiful yellow flowers and it shows how much the poet has appreciated the daffodils. The daffodils are also compared to a lot of golden flowers. Gold is an element, which is highly valuable. Thus we can guess that the poet has used the word "golden" in order to imply that the daffodils are precious to him as gold. On the other hand he may have used this word in order to give the reader an idea about the color of the daffodil.

"Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way"

The poet does not seem to be satisfied in describing the beauty and the sensuality of the daffodils as implied in the above lines. The poet has compared the yellowish daffodils to stars. Nobody hesitates to accept that the stars are ravishing. They shine uniquely and suddenly become invisible which is the beauty of it. Furthermore stars can never be finished counting. Thus the simile "continuous as the stars that shine..." is a very beautiful and appropriate visual image presented by Wordsworth showing us how the beautiful scenery has entertained his soul.

In the opening lines of the third stanza of the poem, the poet mentions that,

"The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee"

These lines create a lively image of the daffodils moving to and fro in the breeze. To the poet, it seems like the flowers are dancing. Only a clever poet who appreciates beautiful scenes can think of such a beautiful comparison.

"For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood
They flash upon that inward eye"

These lines imply how much the poet was hypnotized by the flowers as he gets a very clear mental picture of the daffodils that dance in the breeze. When he is in vacant or in pensive mood, all of a sudden, the image of golden daffodils appear in his mind. It is like someone always keeps remembering the person he loves.

In brief, Wordsworth has presented the reader, an appropriate set of visual images and ideas making the reader realize of the art and the beauty of his poetry and how gazed and amazed he has been after seeing a grand natural scenery.