Student Question
What type of symbolism does Wordsworth use in "Daffodils?"
Quick answer:
In "Daffodils," Wordsworth uses the daffodils as a symbol of transcendence and permanence in a transient world. The moment of seeing the daffodils represents an ideal way of life, reflecting Wordsworth's love of nature and his quest for bliss and contentment. This symbolism allows him to connect with a larger existential understanding, offering a sense of enduring joy and meaning against life's mutability.
The symbolism present in Wordsworth's poem lies in the moment. This particular moment happens in the sight of these daffodils. Consider the recreation of this moment in the mind of Dorothy Wordsworth, the poet's sister who shared in this instant with her brother:
I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever dancing ever changing.
The poet takes this moment, an instant in time, and uses this as a symbolic representation of how life should be. I think that being able to take this moment and explore it becomes a symbol of Wordsworth's own love of nature. There was something...
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in this moment that allowed him to transcend the present and project his own sense of self into the conditional. This is something that enables Wordsworth to also link his own sense of being to a larger element, a notion that both glorifies himself and suppresses it in a wider configuration at the same time. For Wordsworth, the moment of seeing the daffodils allows him to feel better about his own state of being in the world, and enables him to understand more about who he is in this life and what gives passion and meaning to him. The symbolism of the moment is that Wordsworth is able to understand more of what it means to be blissful, happy, and to find a sphere of permanent content in a world of transition and mutability. The symbol of the daffodils in the poem is one of permanence in a world where there is not much in way of that which lasts.
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