The daffodils
Unit: 05 The daffodils
1. Comprehension Questions (Oral Discussion & Writing)
(a) With what does the poet William Wordsworth compare himself?
Ans:- The poet William Wordsworth compares himself to a lonely cloud that floats on high over vales and hills.
(b) With what does Wordsworth compare the daffodils?
Ans:- Wordsworth compares the daffodils to the continuous stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way.
(c) What does Wordsworth mean by ‘jocund’ company from the options below?
Ans:- The word ‘jocund’ company means (i) happy and cheerful.
(d) What does the poet mean by the word ‘wealth’? Why does he use the word here?
By ‘wealth,’ the poet means the richness of the beautiful memory or the spiritual wealth that the sight of the daffodils brought him. He uses the word because this memory gives him enduring pleasure and joy, which is more valuable than material wealth.
(e) What happens to the poet when he lies on his couch in a sad and thoughtful mood?
Ans:- When the poet lies on his couch in a sad (vacant) or thoughtful (pensive) mood, the sight of the daffodils flashes upon his inward eye (his memory/imagination). Then, his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the daffodils.
2. Choose the Correct Option
(a) The poet compares himself to
Answer: (i) a piece of lonely cloud
(b) While wandering alone, the poet saw
Answer: (iii) a host of golden daffodils
(c) The poet compares the daffodils to
Answer: (iii) the stars in the milky way
(d) The jocund company referred to is the company of
Answer: (i) the daffodils (It can also be argued as (iii) the dancing daffodils and the waves of the lake, but ‘jocund company’ specifically refers to the daffodils who ‘out-did the sparkling waves in glee’).
(e) The inward eye of the poet is the poet’s
Answer: (iii) imagination (The text refers to it as the ‘bliss of solitude’, which is a happiness derived from his imagination / memory).
3. Match the Following
Item Action/Description
The waves danced beside the daffodils
The poet saw a host of golden daffodils
A cloud floated over valleys and hills
The daffodils stretched in a never-ending line
The poet’s heart filled with pleasure and danced with the daffodils
4. Word Meanings and Literary Devices
(a) Find a word in stanza 1 that means ‘to roam about’.
Ans:- The word is wander’d.
(b) Find out what ‘o’er’ means. How will you write the actual word?
Ans:- ‘O’er’ is a poetic contraction and means over.
(c) Find a word in stanza 2 which means ‘a lake’.
Ans:- The word is bay. (In this context, ‘bay’ refers to a small inlet or a part of the lake’s margin).
(d) What does the poet refer to when he says ‘Ten thousand saw I’?
Ans:- The poet is referring to the huge number of daffodils he saw at a glance.
(e) What is ‘sprightly dance’?
Ans:- ‘Sprightly dance’ is a lively, energetic, or cheerful dance.
(f) Give another word each for ‘glee’ and ‘jocund’.
i) Glee: Joy, Happiness, Delight
ii) Jocund: Cheerful, Merry, Happy
(g) What is out-did in ‘out-did the sparkling waves’?
Ans:- Out-did means surpassed, exceeded, or performed better than. The daffodils were more joyful than the sparkling waves.
(h) Give the opposite of the following words: vacant, pleasure, bliss
* Vacant: Occupied, Thoughtful, Filled
* Pleasure: Pain, Sadness, Discomfort
* Bliss: Misery, Sorrow, Woe
6. Rhyming Words and Sentence Completion
List of other rhyming words in the poem:
* Trees – Breeze
* Shine – Line
* Way – Bay
* Glee – Company
* Thought – Brought
* Lie – Eye
* Mood – Solitude
* Fills – Daffodils
Complete the sentence (using the rhyming words from the box):
(i) The sun is shining and the girl is dancing.
(ii) The forest is full of green trees and the flowers are dancing in the cool still.
(iii) On the top of the bare hill I stand mute and still.
(iv) Don’t spoil my mood by being so rude.
7. Poetic Lines in Everyday English and Word Usage
(a) Rewrite the following poetic lines in everyday English.
(i) Ten thousand saw I at a glance.
Everyday English: I saw ten thousand at a glance (or I saw a huge number instantly).
(ii) For oft when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood.
Everyday English: Because often when I lie on my sofa/bed, I am in a bored or thoughtful mood.
(iii) Then my heart with pleasure fills.
Everyday English: Then my heart fills with pleasure (or Then I feel great joy).
(b) Find two words in the poem that are poetic in form and are not used in prose.
Two such words are:
* O’er (for ‘over’)
* Oft (for ‘often’)
Sentence Illustrations:
* The brave knight rode o’er the bridge and into the setting sun.
* She thinks oft of her childhood home, which she misses dearly.
(c) Illustrate the differences in meaning between gaze and stare by writing a sentence using each.
* Gaze: To look steadily and intently, often in wonder or admiration.
* Example: I could only gaze at the magnificent waterfall, struck by its beauty.
* Stare: To look fixedly and often rudely or blankly, sometimes with an aggressive or surprised intention.
* Example: It’s impolite to stare at strangers on the bus.
8. Correcting Words in the Poetic Extract
The wrong words in the extract are: trees, twinkling, cloud, joyous, and also.
Corrected Extract:
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee;
A Poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.
10. Filling in the Blanks with the Correct Form of the Verb
One day the poet William Wordsworth was wandering alone along a lake. All at once, he saw (see) a host of golden daffodils. The daffodils were dancing (dance) in the breeze. The poet compared (compare) the daffodils to the stars on the milky way. They stretched (stretch) in a never-ending line along the side of the lake. He noticed (notice) that the waves of the lake were also dancing (dance) joyfully. He enjoyed (enjoy) the scene very much. Later, in his sad moments, when the poet often recalled (recall) the scene, his heart filled with joy and began (begin) to dance with the daffodils.
12. Matching Action Words (Verbs) with Nouns
Column A (Nouns) Column B (Action Words/Verbs)
clouds. float
golden daffodils flutter, dance, stretch, toss
stars shine, twinkle
sparkling waves danced
12. (b) Writing Sentences using the Verbs
(i) The cloud was floating over vales and hills.
(ii) The golden daffodils were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(iii) The stars twinkle continuously on the milky way.
(iv) The sparkling waves danced beside the daffodils.
13. Completing Sentences with the Correct Prepositions
(i) Clouds float over hills and valleys.
(ii) The daffodils bloomed beside a lake.
(iii) Stars were shining in the sky.
(iv) They formed a line along the shore of a bay.
(v) He would often lie on his couch lost in thoughts.