The poem by Gillian Clarke is about a 'miracle' that occurs on St. David's Day, when a dumb man is touched by the power of a poem. She visits a mental hospital and recites poems to the patients. When in middle of a poem the dumb man abruptly stands up and recites ‘The Daffodils’ by William Wordworth. The nurses were “frozen” because they’d never heard the man speak before. Gillian Clarke describes the tension and the silence as the man recites.
The structure of the poems have obvious differences, the most noticeable being length and rhyme. Miracle is more like a piece of prose than a poem, but is written in poetic form. It is also a great deal longer and some stanzas are linked together, this is called enjambment.
There are still differences in the subject and setting, for instance, Miracle is set in an enclosed, cold setting, with the beauty on the outside rather than inside, whereas The Daffodils is something beautiful happening in setting surroundings.
In this poem – ‘The Daffodils’ – Wordsworth is trying to stress the beauty of nature and how the daffodils have affected him. The words he uses to describe this beauty creates a magical, dream-like atmosphere and makes it seem so unreal.
In stanza one he explains, whilst he ‘wandered lonely as a cloud’ he saw a host of ‘golden daffodils.’ He was stunned by the radience of the daffodils. The word ‘golden’ that he uses to describe the daffodils makes them seem precious and royal. He believes that these certain flowers were special as they gave him such inspiration. He also describes them as being happy and joyful as they are “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” We see an example of aliteration in this first stanza:
“Beside the lake, beneath the trees
fluttering and dancing in the breeze”
this gives the last couplets a rhythm and a beat. We also see a simile
“I wandered lonely as a cloud” and a metaphor, “fluttering and dancing” These devices brings the poem to life and we can imagine ourselves dancing beside the daffodils!
In stanza two, Wordsworth has exaggerated the number of daffodils that he can see and compares them by saying “continuous as the stars that shine” and “they stertched in never-ending line.”
The last line – “tossing their heads in sprightly dance” – makes them sound quite pround and full of life. This captures the movment of the daffodils. The enjambent used in this stanza helps to build up the mood of excitement. It builds up pace and adds speed.
The simile used – “continuous as the stars that shine” – helps Wordsworth convey and exaggerate on the large amount of flowers he can see. “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance” is an example of personification in the poem which also brings the daffodils to life and helps the reader to picture the magic around them.
In stanza three, he is describing how although the lake's waves danced and sparkled, they were still not as beautiful as the daffodils. Nothing could take his attention away from the happy and cheerful daffodils. He then describes how he “gazed – and gazed” at the flowers but little did he appreciate their beauty at the time, or realized what an imprint it would make in his mind and imagination. In this third stanza, there’s an example of repetition of the word ‘gazed’ this conveys the feeling of disbelief from the poet and that he’s trying to take in the magic of the flowers.
Again, using the word ‘danced,’ Wordsworth has personified the waves which conveys the feeling of happiness all around.
In the fourth stanza, he describes how, later on when he lies on his couch "in vacant or in pensive mood,” he can remember and imagine the daffodils and their beauty. When he pictures these daffodils, he is filled with happiness and pleasure and his heart “dances with the daffodils.” He now realises the true beauty of the daffodils and what an effect they had on him that day.
The metaphor used in this last stanza – “And then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils” – informs us how the poet feels when thinking of the flowers.
He also writes in first person, so it proves that the daffodils were something he saw, something that affected him personally. The rhythm used allows him to create the magical effect of beauty with the words he uses. It is set out in four verses, all using the same meter and rhyming scheme and all with the same layout.
In my opinion, Wordsworth has used poetic devises very carefully without inserting too many in his poem. The metaphors, similes, personification, aliteration and repetition that he uses in the poem, bring life to the daffodils and inspiration to the reader.
