Student Question
How do you paraphrase "To a Butterfly" by William Wordsworth?
Quick answer:
The poem's narrator observes a butterfly for 30 minutes, pondering whether it is sleeping or feeding, and imagines its joy once it resumes flying. In the second stanza, he offers the butterfly sanctuary in the orchard he shares with his sister, ensuring its safety. The butterfly's presence triggers childhood memories, recalling how a single day in youth felt as long as 20 days do now.
The narrator has been watching the butterfly for 30 minutes. The butterfly hasn’t moved and the narrator wonders if it is sleeping or feeding. The narrator muses on how happy the butterfly will be when it starts flying around again. In the second stanza, he mentions that he and his sister own the orchard and offers the orchard as a sanctuary to the butterfly where it can rest and be assured that it will not be harmed. He next describes how as he watches the butterfly he thinks back to his childhood, and remember that one day when he was young seemed to pass at the same speed as 20 days pass now.
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