Daffodils | Question-Answer | Invitation to English 1 | +2 2nd Year | CHSE Odisha

 

Daffodils

By William Wordsworth

Text Book Question and Answer

1. When did the poet see the daffodils?

Ans: The poet was wandering alone like a cloud that floated high over valleys and hills. It was then that he saw the daffodils by the side of a lake.

2. Where did the poet see the daffodils?

Ans: The poet while wandering alone, saw a host of golden daffodils beside a lake, beneath the trees. 

3. Fill in the blanks to describe the idea of stanza 1: The poet was - - - in the English Country side. He saw thousands of - - fluttering and dancing beneath - - and beside - - . The daffodils appeared to be - - in the strong breeze.

Ans: The poet was wandering in the English Countryside. He saw thousands of daffodils fluttering and dancing beneath the trees and beside the lake. The daffodils appeared to be dancing in the strong breeze

4. What does the poet compare the daffodils with?

Ans: The poet compares the daffodils with the stars twinkling in the milky way. 

5. What resemblance does he find between the stars and the daffodils?

Ans: The poet makes a comparison between the stars and daffodils. The daffodils are countless in number and their golden petals shine with the breeze. Similarly, the stars in the sky are countless and they twinkle brightly and emit their shine in the sky. 

6. What does the poet say about the number of flowers?

Ans: When the poet saw the daffodils at a glance, he could see that they were ten thousand in number. By this, he meant, that the flowers were uncountable. 

7. Where were the flowers?

Ans: The flowers were on the bank of the lake and beneath the trees. 

8. Which of the two danced more sprightly - the waves or the daffodils?

Ans: Both the waves and the daffodils danced cheerfully, but the daffodils were more jolly than the waves. 

9. How does the poet feel while looking at the daffodils?

Ans: The poet was happy and cheerful in the company of the daffodils. He continued to gaze at them and observe their merriment. 

10. What happens to the poet when he lies on his couch?

Ans: When the poet lied on his couch in a vacant or thoughtful mood, the sight of the daffodils came alive to his mind. The joy he experienced on observing the flowers, got stored in his memory forever. he recalled those memories and felt the same joy again. 

11. Mention the two moods of the poet.

Ans: The poet has elaborated his two moods. One of them is vacant mood when he is in a free state of mind and the other one is the pensive mood that reflects his deep thought especially that worries him slightly.

12. What does the poet feel when he remembers the sight of the daffodils?

Ans: When the poet remembers the sight of the daffodils, he feels as he were present amidst the golden daffodils, dancing in joy end enjoying their jocund company. Then his heart is filled with an ocean of pleasure and it begins to dance with the dancing movement of the flowers.

13. When does the poet write the poem - beside or off the lake?

Ans: The poem was written off the lake. The poet experienced the company of the daffodils while wandering alone. He recalled the sight later on and wrote the poem. 

14. Do you find a rhyme scheme in the poem? The rhyming scheme of the first stanza is a b a b (a - 'cloud' and 'crowd'; b - 'hills' and 'daffodils'), ending with a rhyming couplet cc (c - 'trees' and 'breeze'). Is the rhyme scheme similar in other three stanzas or do you find any variation?

Ans: The rhyme scheme of the first two stanzas are the same - ababcc. Rhyme scheme of the 3rd stanza is - abacdd and 4th stanza is same as the first and second one: ababcc. 

15. How many times is the word 'dance' repeated in this poem? In which line does it show the happiness and liveliness of the flowers?

Ans: The word dance has been repeated four times in the poem. It has been used once in each stanza. In the line 12, it shows the happiness and liveliness of flowers. 

16. In which line does it create a sense of harmonious relationship between the daffodils and the waves?

Ans: In lines 12 and 13, the word 'dance' created a sense of harmonious relationship between the daffodils and the waves. 

17. In which line does this harmonious relationship include the poet himself?

Ans: In line 15, the poet got included in the harmonious relationship of the waves and daffodils when he felt cheerful in their company. 

18. What figures of speech do you find in the poem?

Ans: In this poem we find figures of speech like simile, hyperbole, and metaphors. 

19. 'Simile' is a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things by using like‘, as‘, etc. For example, in 'I wandered lonely as a cloud', as the loneliness of the poet resembles the loneliness of the cloud that is floating high in the sky, the figure of speech used is a simile. What other example of a simile do you find in the poem?

Ans: The other examples of simile is found in the second stanza, "Continuous as the stars that shine", wherein the poet compared the daffodils with the stars. 

20. 'Metaphor' is a figure of speech that makes an implicit comparison between two unlike things. In 'What wealth the show to me had brought', the poet imagines the happiness brought to him by the beautiful scene of the flowers as "wealth". Does he use a metaphor here?

Ans: Yes the poet has used metaphor here. 

21. "Ten thousand saw I at a glance" - is it an exaggeration? Will you call it a 'hyperbole"?

Ans: Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement made for effect. Here, the poet is emphasizing the huge number of daffodils. Yes, It is a hyperbole. 

22. What figure of speech does the poet use in "They stretched in never-ending line."?

Ans: The figure of speech used here is hyperbole. 

Additional Questions and Answers

1. What impact did the dancing daffodils have on the poet?

Ans: When the poet remembers the sight of the daffodils, he immediately discovers himself in the midst of the charming golden coloured flowers dancing in the cool breeze. His heart fills with endless pleasure and dances with them.

2. 'In such a jocund company:' - What constituted the 'jocund company'?

Ans: 'Jocund company' refers to a merry or enjoyable company or association of nature. The waves of the lake and the golden daffodils dancing gleefully producing a pleasant sight constitutes the jocund company.

3. 'They flash upon that inward eye' - What does 'Inward eye' imply?

Ans: Here 'Inward eye' implies our mind's eye. If we contemplate anything in our mind's eye, we can get a clear-cut idea of it even in their absence.

4. How did the show of the 'Jocund company' affect the poet?

Ans: The jocund company with the daffodils not only made the poet happy but also provided him with long-term pleasure through recollection at silent hour.

5. What were the daffodils doing when the poet saw them?

Ans: The poet saw that the daffodils were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

6. How does the poet describe the large number of daffodils?

Ans: The large number of daffodils were continuous along the margin of the lake. They were fluttering and dancing. He also compared them with the stars.

7. Which expressions describe the loneliness of the poet?

Ans: The line " I wandered lonely as a cloud" describes the loneliness of the poet.

8. Why does the poet consider the daffodils a 'jocund company' ?

Ans: The poet was wandering alone. But the sight of the dancing daffodils filled his heart with joy. So the daffodils were a jocund company for him.

9. Where was the poet wandering and how?

Ans: William Wordsworth, the world-famous poet and the lover of nature was once moving aimlessly just like a floating cloud in the sky along the shore of a lake.

10. What do you mean by daffodils?

Ans: A daffodil is a bell-shaped flower of golden yellow colour emanating sweet fragrance. Usually, it blooms in the advent of spring by the side of lakes.

11. How does the poet compare himself with the cloud?

Ans: Just like a solitary cloud that makes criss-cross movement high over the valleys and hills aimlessly. similarly, the poet was moving aimlessly along the lake. The poet was alone as a cloud.

12. What is meant by bliss of solitude? And what does it refer to here?

Ans: Literally, "bliss" means perfect happiness whereas "solitude" means a state of loneliness. Here it refers to the sight of golden daffodils that provide heavenly pleasure and perfect happiness to the poet during his lonely state of mind.

13. What is "wealth" referred to in this poem?

Ans: In the poem, "wealth" doesn't mean the property owned by a person. Here it means the heavenly pleasure, the daffodils brought to the poet.