The poet says that he has gained something, describing it with ‘What wealth to me the show had brought’; signifying that he enjoyed the performance by the daffodils and benefited from the experience.
William Wordsworth presents the idea that he is happy with ‘A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company’. This suggests that his mood has been lifted and that he is no longer detached, but part of a company of flowers.
In verse four, the poet returns to the present and reflects on what he saw two years previously and what he has gained from his experience.
The poet writes that when he is ‘In vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye’, demonstrating that if he is daydreaming or being thoughtful, he can always remember the image, meaning that it was so special and unforgettable, it touched him on the inside, not just the outside.
The poem demonstrates the power of memory, describing it as ‘the bliss of solitude’. With which he means that the vision was so awe-inspiring, that he will always remember it and be able to conjure up the perfect image whenever and wherever.
The poem then goes on to describe how his mood is lifted ‘And then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils’, extending the idea that the picture he saw two years before made his heart dance and sing, giving him the power to carry on, thanks to the beauty of nature.
‘The Daffodils’ has an ABABCC rhyme scheme and regular rhythm. The rhythm is consistent, which gives the poem interest and makes it enjoyable.
I find the poem very interesting to read, as it is filled with complex vocabulary and attractive similies. The length of the poem is perfect and I like the fact that it is based on somebody’s actual experience, which adds depth to the poem.
I think that the idea of having the first three verses of the poem about the actual experience and the last one about him reflecting on the image is appealing; as it slowly creates the picture he saw in his mind.
The way that the daffodils are written about makes them seem more fascinating and gives a different perspective. They no longer seem just like flowers, but instead, more like little people with feelings and thoughts, which conjures up a beautiful image.
Overall, I like the title of the poem, ‘The Daffodils’, as it is simple and straight to the point. I feel that the poem is well-worded and thought out and is a pleasure to read, as it fills you with hope and joy, just like it filled the poet when he saw the field of daffodils.
‘Miracle on St David’s Day’ by Gillian Clarke is a poem about a personal experience that Clarke had when she was reading poetry in a home for the mentally unstable or insane.
The poem starts off with an extract from ‘The Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth; ‘They flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude’. This suggests that the power of memory will be important in this poem as well.
The poet seems to almost falsely set the scene, with the section ‘it might be a country house, guests strolling, the rumps of gardeners between nursery shrubs’, creating an idyllic setting.
The poem personifies the sun, as it is ‘treading the path’, as well as describing the daffodils as ‘open-mouthed’, suggesting they are happy and smiling or calmly yawning.
The second verse begins with an impact-short and direct, with ‘I am reading poetry to the insane’, a shocking contrast to the previous verse, which the reader does not expect; as the verse before is gentle and beautiful.
Clarke lovingly introduces the people, ‘An old woman, interupting, offers as many buckets of coal as I need’. This is the first person she introduces, an odd, but not horrible, almost humorous example.
The second person to be introduced is a ‘beautiful chestnut-haired boy’ who ’listens entirely absorbed. A schizophrenic…on a good day.’ She is positive about every person and seems to enjoy reading to them, not stereotype them, as we perhaps expect.
The poetry has not reached one of the people, the third to be introduced, ‘In a cage of first march sun, a woman sits not listening, not seeing, not responding’; she is trapped within her own body and cannot respond, which is devastating.
It is upsetting and sad that the woman is so withdrawn; she is described as sitting ’In her neat clothes the woman is absent’. This enhances the idea that she is trapped and that she is detached from the rest of the world. Outwardly she seems disconnected; inwardly she is upset, as she cannot communicate with the rest of the community and cannot share her inner thoughts.
The fourth person to be introduced is the main focus of the poem and is not presented at the beginning of the poem, but instead in the middle. Yet again, Gillian Clarke acquaints us with the man with ‘a big, mild man’; suggesting that although he is tall, he is like a gentle giant, large but loving.
The issue with the man is his speech, ‘He has never spoken’; which is a very abrupt, but factual account. The reader is only given clues about the past of this mysterious character.
Although he cannot understand the meaning of the words, he is enthralled and ‘rocks gently to the rhythms of the poems’, implying that the man is engaged by the sound and music of the poem.
The poet reads to the men and women in the room, whether they are listening or not; she reads to ‘their presences, absences, to the big, dumb labouring man as he rocks’; suggesting that it soothes, calms and comforts the insane.
The fifth verse begins with ’He is suddenly standing, silently’, which grabs the reader and enhances the pace. The snippet continues with ‘huge and mild, but I feel afraid’. This establishes the idea that something important is about to happen.
Clarke then talks about rebirth, ‘Like slow movement of spring water or the first bird of the year in the breaking darkness’, portraying the difference between Winter (death of nature) and Spring (new life or rebirth). It then carries on with the surprise, ‘the labourer’s voice recites, “The Daffodils” ’. He has not spoken for many years, being an elective mute, so he is now coming out of his own darkness and for some reason feels able to communicate with the world.
There is disbelief among the patients and nurses, described as ‘The nurses are frozen, alert; the patients seem to listen’. This is surprising as the patients are listening, proving that they do have some capacity or sense of what is important.
The labourer has not spoken for many years, so he is ‘hoarse, but word-perfect’, which is surprising, showing that his memory is good and that he has not lost the ability to speak.
In ‘The Daffodils’, the daffodils are centre-stage, whereas in “Miracle on St David’s Day’, they are observers and are only in the background; ‘Outside the daffodils are still as wax’, a similie emphasizing the thought that they are not the main focus, but instead they are statues in the distance, respecting the labourer.
The poem uses repetition from “The Daffodils’, using ‘a thousand, ten thousand’ which is repeated in ‘ten thousand saw I at a glance’; although for different reasons, one for words, the other for daffodils. Every syllable the man speaks is a miracle.
The line carries on talking about the words, writing that ‘their syllables unspoken’, showing the parts of speech not spoken before by the labourer.
Clarke goes on to explain the colour of the daffodils, defining ‘their creams and yellows still’, a contrast from ‘The Daffodils’ where they are ‘golden daffodils’; this extends the idea that they are in the background and are subtle, so as not to take the attention from the man and his sudden inspiration.
In the next verse, the poet explains the history of the labourer and tells us where and when he learnt the poem, ‘Forty years ago, in a valley’s school, the class recited poetry by rote’ which is how he knew the poem word-perfect (he had repeated it so many times, it had stuck). This highlights the importance of memory.
It is now that we find out when he became mute, when ‘the dumbness of misery fell’, which suggests that something important must have happened to cause him to stop communicating, as he was an elective mute.
Now that the poetry was read, it has suddenly reminded the man that ‘there was a music of speech and that once he had something to say’. He has been inspired by the sounds of the poetry.
After he has said his piece, there is a stunned and respectful quiet, where ‘before the applause, we observe the flowers’ silence’. This highlights the point that the daffodils regard the labourer with consideration.
The last line is probably one of the most important phrases of the whole poem, ‘A thrush sings and the flowers are flame’, carrying the idea of rebirth and new beginnings. Thrushes normally sing in the spring, a time of new life and the daffodils are flame. This metaphor emphasizes a contrast with the subtle flowers – they are now vibrant. The flowers becoming bright and colourful is a sign of hope and energy.
The structure in this poem is free verse; this has the effect of being more narrative, which is well suited to a recounting of a personal experience.
I find this poem very exciting, as it seems to have underlying messages to extract throughout the piece, which is intriguing. Both poems are very different from each other, so they are difficult to match.
Both poems are about the beauty of nature and the power of memory. In ‘the daffodils’ it is about the poet reflecting on the image he saw two years previously, in ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’ it is about the labourer reciting a poem word-perfectly from memory when he has been silent for many years previously. I would say both poems are about inspiration.
On the other hand, they are written very differently, with William Wordsworths’ in an ABABCC rhyme and Gillian Clarke’s in free verse, being more of a story than a poem. The structure of ‘The Daffodils’ differs from ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’, as it has a more regular rhythm, to make a happy, dancing mood.
Each poem is about inspiration, with Wordsworth being inspired by the vision of daffodils that he sees and the labourer being inspired to speak by the sound and music of the poetry.
However, the colour of the daffodils differs between the poems, with creams and yellows in Gillian Clarke’s piece and golden in Wordsworths’.
Both poems have the words ‘ten thousand’ in them, for daffodils and for syllables. They also have the beauty of nature occurring in them for the daffodils.
The poems are set in different time periods, as ‘The Daffodils’ was written in 1804, whereas ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’ was only written recently, meaning it is contemporary.
Both poems use daffodils, although for different purposes, one as the main focus, the other as a background detail, as there is a dissimilar main focus. The daffodils are used as a symbol of hope and to enhance mood or atmosphere, for different effects on the reader.
‘The Daffodils’ is about the colour of the flowers, the image in general and the change in mood brought on by the daffodils. I like the simplicity of the poem and the way it flows, not just from line to line, but from each point.
‘Miracle on St David’s Day’ sends a strong message out, with a deep underlying message. I like the word choices, as I think it makes the poem very interesting.
I enjoyed reading both poems a lot, for separate reasons; although prefer ‘The Daffodils’ to ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’, as I like the regular rhythm and length of the poem more than the free verse, almost story-like quality of ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’.
