EXAMPLE #1
“Daffodils”, Also Known As, “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”
(A-8) wandered lonely as a cloud
(B-8) That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
(A-8) When all at once I saw a crowd,
(B-8) A host, of golden daffodils;
(C-8) Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
(C-9) Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(D-8) Continuous as the stars that shine
(E-8) And twinkle on the milky way,
(D-8) They stretched in never-ending line
(E-8) Along the margin of a bay:
(F-8) Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
(F-8) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
(E-8) The waves beside them danced; but they
(F-8) Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
(E-8) A poet could not but be gay,
(F-8) In such a jocund company:
(G-8) I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
(G-8) What wealth the show to me had brought:
(H-8) For oft, when on my couch I lie
(I-8) In vacant or in pensive mood,
(H-8) They flash upon that inward eye
(I-8) Which is the bliss of solitude;
(B-8) And then my heart with pleasure fills,
(B-9) And dances with the daffodils.
Analysis​
:​
This poem is very truthful and personal to Wordsworth. This poem is
about him and how he feels about his success. Notice how he says, "What wealth
the show to me had brought..." This talks about the large amount of money that he
would bring in for his poetry that he would right. He also said, "A poet could not
but be gay..." Before you laugh, gay used to mean happy. It was then turned into a
word now negatively used. But if we look at this line from his poem we can see that
he was talking about his pure happiness that came to him while writing, saying, and
being paid for poetry. His use of the term, daffodils, was very clever. Daffodils are
beautiful yellow flowers with life, and vibrancy. What Wordsworth was saying when
he was talking about when he said, "When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of
golden daffodils..." He is talking about the crowd of incredible adoring fans of his
waiting for him to read his poetry. Poetry being very important in his time, the
1770s and the 1800s, and Wordsworth being an amazing poet it only made logical
sense that he had so many adoring fans waiting to hear him read his poetry. In a
nutshell this poem was written for his fans thanking them for their support, love,
and purity through all of this time he wrote poetry . The meter he used was a very
simple one, 8 in the first five lines, the sith line then is nine. This then stops for
the next two stanzas and the pattern comes back at the last stanza. The rhyme
scheme is very simple as well, (A-B-A-B-C-C) and this then continues except for
the letters representing the lines change as his rhyme changes. This poem reminds
me of when you see famous people walk on stage to accept awards or to perform
and everyone looks like the queen just walked into the room! And no, not the band
queen, the real queen! ​
(26 - I‛m not sure what I liked better, this poem, which I
haven‛t read since high school, or your clever interpretation. You have a
commanding, certain voice throughout your analysis, which makes the reader
believe you in your ideas about the poem. The way you use a line in quotation marks
then explain what it means is very scholarly and well-done. +1 BONUS)
EXAMPLE #2
Blackberrying BY​
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SYLVIA PLATH Nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries, Blackberries on either side, though on the right mainly, A blackberry alley, going down in hooks, and a sea Somewhere at the end of it, heaving. Blackberries Big as the ball of my thumb, and dumb as eyes Ebon in the hedges, fat With blue­red juices. These they squander on my fingers. I had not asked for such a blood sisterhood; they must love me. They accommodate themselves to my milkbottle, flattening their sides. Overhead go the choughs in black, cacophonous flocks— Bits of burnt paper wheeling in a blown sky. Theirs is the only voice, protesting, protesting. I do not think the sea will appear at all. The high, green meadows are glowing, as if lit from within. I come to one bush of berries so ripe it is a bush of flies, Hanging their bluegreen bellies and their wing panes in a Chinese screen. The honey­feast of the berries has stunned them; they believe in heaven. One more hook, and the berries and bushes end. The only thing to come now is the sea. From between two hills a sudden wind funnels at me, Slapping its phantom laundry in my face. These hills are too green and sweet to have tasted salt. I follow the sheep path between them. A last hook brings me To the hills’ northern face, and the face is orange rock That looks out on nothing, nothing but a great space Of white and pewter lights, and a din like silversmiths Blackberrying is a poem filled with endless possibilities. It is about finding yourself in the things you least expected. When Sylvia Plath explains “Nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries” she means there is yet nobody there to help her through her rough times. The blackberries are actually the unexpected help she is given by the face of her possibilities. She says in her poem through heartbreaking words, that she has feelings that no one hears, the cries at night are swallowed by her pride. At the end of the day she doesn’t know where she is heading. The road is long, it is filled with emotions and memories awaiting to be made and she has yet to expect the things coming along on her journey. When she keeps saying nobody is on either side for her to talk to, all she sees are blackberries, that is the wake up call. The wake up call is to Sylvia, telling her she needs to get her priorities together and find out what is calling her name. When she is expressing her confusion on why she keeps seeing things appear that she never thought would matter, she ends up having those things being her survival guide to the rest of her life. Sylvia keeps telling herself these bushes will passover and the sea will come and take her away into her happy place. When she explains that in her poem she is saying there are so many confusions in my life and i’m waiting, waiting for that one moment in my life where I feel that everything is going to be ok. Sylvia has had a struggle throughout her life, that struggle was finding a way to believe at the end of the road there is an answer, and I will find that answer. She keeps waiting for her answers to be in one specific place but what she doesn’t realize is her answers were right along side her the whole way. The blackberries in the poem were her answers all along and she never understood that things she could see her whole life were just the beginning to the answers of her new life. Blackberrying is a poem that I believe many people would be able to relate to because of the fact that none of us know where we are heading, thats a good thing. People need to have the reasoning that sometimes the things you have been looking for your whole life have been in front of your face the entire time. Even though Sylvia had been through so many horrible life changing effects in her life she never had really thought of how much she had accomplished. The only things she thought about was how many things she had ruined and not be able to succeed in. When the real effect was even though she had been through life changing experiences she had accomplished so many great things and never saw the real sight in that. One reason I think she never understood how much she did do was because there was never really anyone there to tell her they were proud of the way her life had been going. she had been in a dark place for so long and tried to flourish in the things she was passionate about, but she just needed that one more little boost to tell herself “you can do it and everyone believes in you”. No one gave her that little extra step and thats what I think tore her apart most inside. There is no rhyme scheme or meter within this poem. I think that had to do with the fact that even though so many things you don’t understand can leave you wondering they might just be able to pop up and give you some help. The words in her poem had all been different but as the poem went on the same words kept popping up. Things you least expect can always have the possibility to be right in front of you when you least notice it. (This is POEM 2 on PowerSchool) At a certain point, I should throw up my hands and just say, “Okay, you teach the class.” Because you get it, and you ​
get​
it well. In this analysis, instead of just looking at the big meaning, you break it down from top to bottom. As a reader of this, you are so clear and sharp in your writing early on that I was forced to believe your interpretation. You’re an inspiration. (27)