I wandered lonely as a cloud

The poem, I wandered lonely as a cloud, written by William Wordsworth is full of imagery. The use of imagery and figures of speech complete this poem. The first line of the poem, "I wandered lonely as a cloud" (878), is a simile. The author is comparing the narrator with a lonely cloud in the sky. After finishing the poem and looking back to the first line, I see a man surrounded by nature, alone. Trees, hills, water, foilage, flowers, sky all surround him. Everywhere you look, beautiful landscape, and no other human being in sight. To me, this signifies peacefulness. The first time I read the poem, tho, I took the word lonely as alone, miserable, seeking company of others, needing comfort, being lost in mind. But, as I look back now, I don't believe that is what the word lonely means at all in this poem. A cloud floats around in the sky, able to see things that some never will. Another simile in this poem is in the second stanza in the first line, "Continuous as the stars that shine" (879). This comparison is of the golden daffodils. The word used to describe the amount of daffodils before this comparison were, "a crowd" (878). I do not think this summed up the amount of beautiful dancing flowers by far. Wordsworth wanted the imagination to stretch and compare them to the amount of stars in sky, when you look up into the sky on a clear night. After the simile the author goes on to explain, "Ten thousand saw I at a glance" (879). I imagine a sea of daffodils and if you walk into them being completly surrounded as far as the eye can see. The use of the figures of speech in this poem not only put you past the literal meaning of a word but bring out the imagery that is so intense throughout this poem. I can put myself in the place this poem speaks of, by sense of sight.