I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud Critical Analysis

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“Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future” -William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth wrote the original version of his poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” between 1804 - 1807. In 1815 the poem was revised by Wordsworth; changes that he felt needed to be made were made in order to improve the poem. Such changes include the addition of a new stanza and the replacement of some words. He also introduces colour into the poem for the first time when he modifies the poem. The textual changes the will be discussed between the two versions of the poem add a new sense of liveliness to the poem; the addition of the …show more content…

(lines 4, 5, 6, 16) He also adds to the poem by introducing a new stanza to the poem.
By replacing the word “dancing” with “golden” Wordsworth introduces colour into the poem for the first time. The introduction of colour opens up new dimensions in the poem and adds a vitality that the original version of the poem lacked. In his essay, “Orchestra and the Golden Flower: A Critical Interpretation of the Two Versions of Wordsworth 's 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, Harvey Peter Sucksmith argues:
“ 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud ' is that archetype of psychic order, harmony, completeness, even of the integrated Self which has sometimes been called the mandala” (page 155)
The mandala, meaning ‘magic circle’, is frequently depicted as dancing and is often related to the stars and flowers. Mandala’s often take the form of a flower The flower is most often golden in colour; the flower or star of the mandala often plays a central role, much like the “golden daffodils” in this poem. (line 4) (Sucksmith, …show more content…

This suggests that when he originally saw the site he was taken by the number of daffodils and their movement in the breeze rather than their colour and movement as suggested in the revised poem. However, a reworked poem can offer insights the poet mentally recorded of the scene that may have needed more time to process; a rewritten poem may contain new feelings and emotions that needed to be refined over time before they could be put into words to reflect how he truly felt that

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