Analysis of To The Daisy

William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)



IN youth from rock to rock I went
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
       Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make,---
Thirst at every rill can slake,
And gladly Nature's love partake,
       Of Thee, sweet Daisy!

Thee Winter in the garland wears
That thinly decks his few gray hairs;
Spring parts the clouds with softest airs,
       That she may sun thee;
Whole Summer-fields are thine by right;
And Autumn, melancholy Wight!
Doth in thy crimson head delight
       When rains are on thee.

In shoals and bands, a morrice train,
Thou greet'st the traveller in the lane;
Pleased at his greeting thee again;
       Yet nothing daunted,
Nor grieved if thou be set at nought:
And oft alone in nooks remote
We meet thee, like a pleasant thought,
       When such are wanted.

Be violets in their secret mews
The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose;
Proud be the rose, with rains and dew
       Her head impearling,
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame;
Thou art indeed by many a claim
       The Poet's darling.

If to a rock from rain he fly,
Or, some bright day of April sky,
Imprisoned by hot sunshine lie
       Near the green holly,
And wearily at length should fare;
He need but look about, and there
Thou art!---a friend at hand, to care
       His melancholy.

A hundred times, by rock or bower,
Ere thus I have lain couched an hour,
Have I derived from thy sweet power
       Some apprehension
Some steady love; some brief delight;
Some memory that had taken flight;
Some chime of fancy wrong or right;
       Of stray invention.

If stately passions in me burn,
And one chance look to Thee should turn,
I drink out of an humbler urn
       A lowlier pleasure;
The homely sympathy that heeds
The common life, our nature breeds;
A wisdom fitted to the needs
Of hearts at leisure.

Fresh-smitten by the morning ray,
When thou art up, alert and gay,
Then, cheerful Flower! my spirits play
       With kindred gladness:
And when, at dusk, by dews opprest
Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest
Hath often eased my pensive breast
       Of careful sadness.

And all day long I number yet,
All seasons through, another debt,
       Which I, wherever thou art met,
To thee am owing;
An instinct call it, a blind sense;
A happy, genial influence,
Coming one knows not how, nor whence,
       Nor whither going.

Child of the Year! that round dost run
Thy pleasant course,---when day's begun
As ready to salute the sun
       As lark or leveret,
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain;
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time;---thou not in vain
       Art Nature's favourite.


Scheme AAXBCCCB DDDBEEEB FFGXAXXX BXXCHHHI JJJBKKKB LLLMEEEM NNNLOOOL PPPBAQQX RRRISXSI MMMAFGFA
Poetic Form Etheree  (31%)
Tetractys  (23%)
Metre 01111111 11110001 11010100 1111010 11110111 11100111 01010101 11110 11000101 11011111 11011101 11111 11011111 0101001 10110101 11111 0101011 1110100001 11110101 11010 11111111 01010101 11110101 11110 110001101 010010101 11011101 011 111110101 11110111 110111001 01010 11011111 11111101 0101111 10110 01001111 11110101 11011111 1100 010111110 111111110 110111110 1010 11011101 110011101 11110111 11010 11010011 01111111 111111001 0110 01010011 010110101 01010101 11110 11010101 11110101 110101101 1101 0111111 111010111 11011101 11010 01111101 11010101 11010111 11110 11011011 01010100 10111111 11010 11011111 11011101 11010101 1111 11111101 11111101 10111101 1101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,584
Words 462
Sentences 15
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 80
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 196
Words per stanza (avg) 46
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

2:20 min read
264

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was the husband of Eva Bartok. more…

All William Wordsworth poems | William Wordsworth Books

57 fans

Discuss this William Wordsworth poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "To The Daisy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42445/to-the-daisy>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    20
    days
    22
    hours
    44
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea."
    A W.B. Yeats
    B Edgar Allan Poe
    C Edmund Spenser
    D Shel Silverstein