Both poems, in their description of the daffodils use a hyperbole of the number of daffodils. ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ describes: ‘Outside the daffodils…a thousand, ten thousand…’and ‘Daffodils’ describes: ‘…never-ending line…ten thousand saw I at a glance’. However, the poems differ in their visual depiction of the daffodils. ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ describes them as ‘…yellow…still as wax…creams and yellows still…flowers’ silence…the daffodils are flame’. Wordsworth describes them as ‘…golden…fluttering…dancing…’ They contrast in that Clarke describes them almost as a picture, a flash image of Wordsworth’s memory. The ‘photograph’ of Wordsworth’s memory has none of the magic or movement that he saw in the daffodils. This exhibits the notion that Clarke’s poem is a tribute to Wordsworth’s, where the full glamour of his vision cannot be captured or copied, but simply described.
Gillian Clarke’s ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ has no rhyme scheme or obvious rhythm contrasting with Wordsworth’s ABABCC rhyme scheme and iambic tetrameter (four beats per line). Gilliam Clarke does not use rhyme creating the subdued and almost sombre atmosphere in the poem. Her poem covers a serious topic, which is not usually talked about (insanity), especially in poetry. If a rhyme scheme were to be used, it would simply trivialize her poem. Rhyme is often associated with nursery rhymes with a simple and upbeat tone. The intensity of the poem cannot allow for simplicity or a light-hearted tone. Clarke uses enjambment to allow the poem to flow and make it appear more like narrative prose, than poetry. This allows her more freedom in writing the poem to give any desirable effect with different poetical techniques such as onomatopoeia and alliteration, whereas rhyming poetry which end-stops has a set structure which is hard to manipulate as the words must follow the rhyming structure and rhythm. Discordantly, Wordsworth uses rhyme and rhythm to great effect in his poem. It makes the poem organised (perhaps rigid), simple and colourful. It also separates the stanzas into sections of the poem, where each stanza covers a particular aspect: surroundings, description of daffodils’ movement, comparison to show how they differed from surroundings (outdid the waves…) and finally what effect they had on him. The rhyming and rhythm creates a blithe, buoyant and sprightly atmosphere, not only emphasising the movement of daffodils as they dance but also creating movement within the poem itself- the rhythm of the poem is like a dance.
Gillian Clarke changes the tone and emotion throughout her poem, whereas Wordsworth maintains a light-hearted tone throughout his poem. ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ opens with pleasant scene of ‘…the sun among cedars and enormous oaks…[with] guests strolling…’ continuing on to ‘…a cage… darkness… misery…’ This sombre atmosphere continues on throughout the poem until the last line, where ‘…before the applause…thrush sings…daffodils are flame’ . Wordsworth maintains the same overall atmosphere in each verse, even though he opens the poem ‘…lonely as a cloud…’ and ends the poem ‘…in vacant or in pensive mood…’ as he diffuses this with words such as ‘…sprightly…glee…gay…jocund…’
‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ differs greatly to ‘Daffodils’ in that the characters all seem to be trapped in their own minds manifested in the poem as ‘…a cage…not listening, not seeing, not feeling’. The insanity of all of these people is not dangerous, yet it traps them in their world of absences with no escape. In this poem, it is the rhythms of poetry that cures the man. However, ‘Daffodils’ describes the power of the actual flower to cure Wordsworth’s ‘…vacant or pensive mood…’ The significance of the actual flower differs in the two poems. Wordsworth bases his whole poem on them, whereas Clarke bases her poem on Wordsworth’s poem.
The poems connect in that they are both describing an event where a memory lifts the characters spirits and in a way, cures them. Also contrasting with ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ there is a sense of freedom in ‘Daffodils’. The easy atmosphere, pleasant surroundings of nature and the movement of the flowers give this effect. Movement suggests freedom in many cultures is symbolised in native dances. This contrasts with Clarke’s sense of entrapment as there is a dream-like atmosphere, especially in the first stanza: ‘…as a cloud…floats…fluttering…breeze…’
The last lines of both poems show movement in the daffodils. Wordsworth’s poem, having maintained the theme of movement throughout the poem ends with an ardent movement where he himself participates (his heart dances with the daffodils). This gives finality to the poem. ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ ends with the fervent movement of the daffodils in which they resemble a flame. This also gives finality to the poem, as throughout the poem, the flowers were the only things that showed complete stillness. The rest of the poem is also full of movement, for example the man who rocks gently.
‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ is based on characters. It closely follows the structure of a story, where the scenery is introduced, then and the characters, followed by an event of some sort, then concluding to usually a happy ending. This narrative approach can achieve a personal response from the reader. However, Wordsworth’s poem is based on the memory of one person, with no other characters. It is ‘emotion recollected in tranquillity’ which is often used to describe his poetry. It was believed (in the time the poem was written) that being close to nature would bring you closer to God. This idea of dance being a ritual performed for God makes this piece all the more connected to religion. Whereas, although ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ indicates in the title a predominant theme of religion in the poem, when reading the poem the only slight religious reference is to St. David.
Both poems were written in the first person giving the idea that the poet is speaking directly to the reader. This often makes the poem much more interesting to read as it is becomes more personal to the reader. In my opinion, ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ is made more personal to the reader than ‘Daffodils’. Clarke uses simple descriptions ‘…yellow…country house…wax…’ that are familiar to the reader and are not pretentiously over-descriptive or elaborate. However, Wordsworth creates an incredibly upbeat atmosphere that touches the reader, also making his poem very personal.
The language used in both poems creates images in the reader’s mind, which are individual to the reader. In ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’ the use of assonance, alliteration and repetition place firm images in the reader’s mind. The use of assonance in the last line of the first stanza ‘…the rumps of gardeners between nursery shrubs’ allows the sentence to flow gently which places an image of this description in the reader’s mind. The flowing sentence is almost interrupted with the words rumps and shrubs giving the effect of the reader visualising those rumps.
Alliteration is used when describing the man ‘…suddenly, standing, silently…’ and is effective drawing the reader’s eye to it. The repetition of ‘s’ sounds usually gives the image of softness, whereas here it is used in a different context. This is a mild example of onomatopoeia. Repetition is also used in this poem to great effect. The description of the woman who sits ‘…not listening, not seeing, not feeling’ employs the reader’s imagination (to visualise something that seems so impossible) and attention. The repetition in the following line, to emphasise the point being made, the woman is described as absent. In ‘Daffodils’ the use of assonance, alliteration, repetition and onomatopoeia create powerful images in the reader’s mind. Assonance is used in ‘Continuous as the stars that shine…’ to embed the image of a ‘…never-ending line…’ of daffodils in the reader’s line. Vowels, when pronounced, can make quite long sounds, so Wordsworth’s repetition of them in the previous quotes simply highlights the fact that there are many daffodils. Wordsworth uses alliteration ‘…beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze’ to give the poem a pleasant flowing form. The repetition of the ‘b’ sound is usually associated with explosive sounds to convey grandeur and power. However, as in ‘Miracle on St. David’s Day’, they are used to present a calm and peaceful image of pleasant scenery. Repetition is also used in this poem to emphasise the importance of a word or emotion ‘…I gazed- and gazed…’ To gaze implies to watch with a certain amount of emotion, unlike to simply look at something. By repeating the word gaze, he emphasises that the flowers actually meant something to him. Wordsworth also uses onomatopoeia to allow the reader to visualise the description, ‘…fluttering…’ The word allows the reader to see the daffodils fluttering, like a butterfly. These descriptive words are often used in association with a well-known description for example: the fluttering butterflies.
Having studied both poems in depth, it is clear that they have more differences than similarities. However, they both have the same underlying theme of something wonderful happening that should be treasured, although they have presented this theme differently to the reader (different setting, characters, topic etc.).
