“A thousand, ten thousand saw I at a glance”,
And just how the flowers looked from a distance,
“Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”.
Stanza three describes the beauty of the daffodils in further depth. There is a great deal of personification used for both the waves and the daffodils, to try and show us just how beautiful the daffodils and surrounding area were.
“The waves beside them danced”
“They outdid the sparkling waves in glee”.
He tells how at the time he did not realise just how much impact the moment had had upon him,
“Little thought what wealth the show to me had brought”,
Which clearly he did not notice, up until he had the inspiration to write the poem, two years after the original sighting.
The final stanza, as in many poems, holds the meaning and conclusion to the poem, and describes how he relives the moment and shows us how it was spiritually moving.
“My heart with pleasure fills”.
It also shows us that even though the moment had long passed, he still remembers the beauty of the scene.
The content of Miracle is similar in some ways to The Daffodils, for instance, the way that most descriptive stanza, including the meaning of the poem is in the last stanza, and the first stanza describes the scene.
In the first stanza, an idyllic country scene is portrayed, and the general mood is quite romantic.
“The path treads the sun among cedars”
Clarke uses good personification in this stanza, to set the scene, and to give us a clear introduction to the daffodils.
“Open-mouthed with daffodils”.
It gives us the first clue that perhaps there may be something to be more wary about.
“It might be a country house”
Stanza two tells us the true character of the building, and ruins the idyllic scene, and keeps very blunt with the description.
“I am reading poetry to the insane”
This being the first mention of there being something more to the building, we are shocked by not only the change of scene, but by the bluntly, and lack of description. It also introduces us to the patients, and there is almost a hint of humour when Clarke describes “An old woman, interrupting, offers as many buckets of coal as I need”, which shows the state of the patients.
The poet in this stanza also tells us of one particular patient, and this almost begins to rekindle the lost hope of the perfect scene portrayed.
“A beautiful chestnut-haired boy”
However, Clarke once more is very blunt when showing us the reality,
“A schizophrenic”,
And then smoothly runs into the next stanza, using a linked line.
“A schizophrenic-on a good day, they tell me later”
In the next stanza, stanza three, the description of the patients is continued. The poet uses metaphors to describe the scene further,
“In a cage of first March sun”, which I think also symbolises how the woman is trapped by her illness. This stanza also tells us that it is the first of March, and therefore the start of spring. This is also where the miracle begins, as the silent man is introduced. There is a brief description at the start of a broken line, which leads straight into the next stanza where the description is continued, in more detail.
Stanza four begins by telling us how the man’s first impressions are misleading, and shows us how sensitive and misjudged he is. He responds to the poetry.
“He rocks gently to the rhythms of the of the poems”
He is obviously moved by the poetry, and this is perhaps where the miracle begins to unfold. Again at the end of the stanza, there is an emphasis on the man’s illness.
Stanza five is where the miracle takes place, and at first the poet is scared, almost intimidated by the huge man, but then with his first words, recites ‘The Daffodils’ and we are given a moment of silent reflection before moving onto the next stanza. This stanza is very important and descriptive, and the poet uses alliteration “Suddenly standing, silently” and similes “like slow movement of spring water”.
Stanza six shows us the reaction of the miracle, from the patients and nurses, to the daffodils outside the window and nature.
“The daffodils are still as wax”
We also notice the quote from ‘The Daffodils’ “A thousand, ten thousand” which is almost the exact line from the poem, and is used to describe the vastness of the daffodils.
In stanza seven, we are given an explanation for the miracle. We are told how the man learnt ‘The Daffodils’ by heart when he was at school, over forty years ago. The poetry touched the man so much that it prompted hi to talk once more and remember the gift of speech. At the end of the stanza, however, there is another repetition of the man being “dumb” which reminds us of the original condition of the man.
The final stanza shows us the momentary silence being broken, and when the applause is given, nature seems to listen and join in.
“A thrush sings, and the daffodils are flame”
The structure of ‘The Daffodils is much as you might expect from a poem to be. There is a consistent rhyme, and each stanza is of the same length. Lines one and three, two and four rhyme together and the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.
This is a very short, but descriptive poem, and focuses mainly on the warmth and sunlight of the scene, and is very descriptive of the daffodils.
Each stanza comprises of six lines, and even though there are only twenty-four lines, on the poem, we get a clear image of the scene, and I think that the poet describes it as best he could.
The structure of Miracle is different in some ways to The Daffodils, and in some ways the same. There is rhythm, but no rhyme, and each stanza is of the same length. It is a lot longer than The Daffodils, but uses it as inspiration, and even uses a line almost directly from the poem.
When you read through the poem, you get the impression of a piece of prose. It is long, with no rhyme, and the stanzas link together, which makes them look more like a story than a poem.
The poem starts off quickly but then there is a pause between the fifth and sixth stanzas, and the end of the poem is very slow and thoughtful.
The narrative voice in both poems is in the poet, in the first person, the poet being the person who sees the scene. It is also the person who describes it all to us.
The language in The Daffodils is incredibly descriptive, all the way through the poem, especially when describing the daffodils themselves. It helps create a warm, sunny mood and atmosphere. The poem runs fairly slowly which is created using dashes
“I gazed-and gazed-but little thought”
In stanza one,
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high over vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, Beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
The mood is set, airy and aimless. We also feel drifting with the poem. One of the main points made in this stanza, is the vastness of the daffodils “a host of golden daffodils”.
Stanza two,
“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.”
Also conveys a shining, bright atmosphere, and continues the point of the huge number of the daffodils “Ten thousand”. The poet uses similes and metaphors to describe the scene. The poet also uses personification to show the movement and actions of the vast number of daffodils. “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”
In the third stanza,
The waves beside them danced, but they
outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not be but gay
In such jocund company
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth to me this show had brought”
The poet describes how he felt at the moment when he saw them, and line five in the stanza is slowed down to create a drifting mood, and he also describes the spiritual wealth that the show brought to him. The language is kept very drifting to make the reader to feel the same.
In the final stanza,
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”
This isn’t necessarily the moment, more of a lasting memory and effect on the poet. He tells us that even though the moment has long passed, he still feels its effect. The language and mood in the last stanza is still very drifting and “vacant” as described.
Miracle has in some ways the same sort of language as Daffodils, such as the first stanza,
“An afternoon yellow and open-mouthed
With daffodils. The sun treads the path
Among the cedars and enormous oaks.
It might be a country house, guests strolling,
The rumps of gardeners between nursery shrubs.”
Which talks about the sun and nature, creating a warm mood and atmosphere. The poet uses personification to describe the scene “open-mouthed with daffodils” “the path treads the sun”, but towards the end of the stanza, the mood becomes more wary and mysterious “it might be a country house” and ends the stanza leaving us in anticipation of what may be to come. The poet creates an atmosphere to lead us into the next stanza not knowing what will come.
In the second stanza,
“I am reading poetry to the insane.
An old woman, interrupting, offers
As many buckets of coal as I need.
A beautiful chestnut-haired boy listens
Entirely absorbed. A schizophrenic”
It is started very bluntly “ I am reading poetry to the insane”, and leads on to describe the patients. It still emphasises on beauty and warmth, when describing the chestnut-haired boy, but again we are brought back to reality very bluntly and suddenly. “A schizophrenic on a good day they tell me later.” This stanza creates a mood and atmosphere of the insane asylum, cold and dark. There is a lot of emphasis on the patient’s disabilities. The language is very blunt and sincere, and carries on into the third stanza.
The language used in the third stanza,
“on a good day, they tell me later.
In a cage of first March sun a woman
Sits not listening, not feeling.
In her neat clothes the woman is absent.
A big, mild man is tenderly lead”
Is again blunt, with a large emphasis on the patient’s conditions. I think that it is symbolic when the poet describes the woman “in a cage of first March sun” as if the woman is trapped by her illness. This is also where the large, kind man is introduced, and this is the most description in stanzas three and four, since the first stanza.
“to his chair. He has never spoken.
His labourer’s hands on his knees, he rocks
Gently to the rhythm of the poems.
I read to their presence’s, absences,
To the big dumb labouring man as he rocks.”
Almost all of stanza four is about the man, but there is still a concentration on the illness “the big, dumb labouring man”. There is a repetition of “he rocks”, because the poet wanted to show the man’s reaction to the poems, to show just how gentle he really is.
The next stanzas,
“He is suddenly standing, silently,
Huge and mild, but I feel afraid. Like slow
Movement of spring water or the first bird
Of the year in the breaking darkness,
The labourer’s voice recites ‘The Daffodils’.
The nurses are frozen, alert; the patients
Seem to listen. He is hoarse but word-perfect.
Outside the daffodils are still as wax,
A thousand, ten thousand, their syllables
Unspoken, their creams and yellows still”
Five and six, are the miracle itself. It starts using alliteration, and continues to use similes “like slow movement of spring water, or the first bird of the year in the breaking darkness” which shows us how long it has been since the man spoke. Between these stanzas, there is a silence, a pause as he recites the poem. It describes how the patients “seem to listen” and how even nature reacts “the daffodils are still as wax”. Then there is a direct quote from ‘The Daffodils’, as it talks about the vastness of the daffodils “a thousand, ten thousand” “ten thousand saw I at a glance”-The Daffodils.
The penultimate stanza, and the last stanza consist of little description.
“Forty years ago, in a Valleys school,
Th class recited poetry by rote.
Since the dumbness of misery fell
He has remembered there a music
Of speech and that once he had something to say.
When he’s done, before the applause, we observe
The flower’s silence. A thrush sings
And the daffodils are flame.”
However, these stanzas describe how the man came to learn the poem. There is a metaphor to describe speech “a music”, but there is still an emphasis on the man’s “dumbness”.
The last stanza is the reaction, the silence breaking as the nurses applaud, and even nature seems to react. The last line is a metaphor, as one final description of the daffodils.
In the daffodils, I think that Wordsworth is teaching the reader that nature is beautiful, and that life should be lived to the fullest, and that emotions will stay with you forever if they are powerful enough. I think that he also wanted to teach us that nature should not be underestimated.
I think that Clarke is trying to show the reader the power of poetry, and that if you learn something once, it will stick with you forever. I also think that she wanted to show that miracles can happen anywhere, any time. Also I think that she wanted to show that we should not judge a book by it’s cover, and not judge a person on what they do or say, that nature is everywhere, and everything is beautiful if you take time to look.
My personal response to the two poems is one of fulfilment. I think that both of these poems are brilliant, and very powerful, as they are very well written. By studying them, I think that I have learnt to respect nature and believe in miracles.
This is my profound experience with nature. It happened whilst on holiday in Australia. I went out to an Island called ‘Lady Elliot Island’. It was very small, and only took about ten minutes to walk from one side to the other. One day we decided to take a boat trip out to go snorkelling off of the Great Barrier Reef. We swam around and saw many beautiful, interesting creatures, and then glanced down into a large drop down to the ocean floor, and there was a giant turtle, that was easily the same size as myself. It came swimming up to us, and swam past, only a metre away, and we weren’t sure whether to be amazed or afraid, so we just stared in shock. We followed it for as long as we could, before it swam out into the darkness of the sea. It was nothing like I had ever seen before, and even though you see these sort of things on television, it doesn’t begin to compare to seeing one in real life. I will never forget that moment as long as I live, and I think that it taught me never to be afraid of nature, and not to judge a book by it’s cover, no matter how shocking.