The Rhyming Scheme of William Wordsworth's Poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

The poem 'I wandered lonely as the cloud' tells of a man who found an element of succour for his lone moments, in daffodils dancing to the tune of waves. These daffodils in action was captured in his mind and anytime he felt alone, he would search his heart for the memory of them and become lively again. In the cause of the poem, the writer metaphorically, using the cloud to describe himself as he wanders, gives a perfect picture of one who walks on his own.

The manner which the poet describes his journey above 'vales and hills' is one that tells of a loner or one who is in search of nothing but would not mind stumbling on a source of amusement. In his quest for nothing in particular, he is blessed with a wonderful sight of golden daffodils, beneath the trees 'fluttering and dancing in the wind' as he describes them. From the first stanza of the poem, the tone is one that is soothing and of hope for the wanderer. The description of the daffodils is quite symbolic and could make one ponder as the writer reveals that they are in thousands at a glance. In fact, he compared them to 'the unending stars that twinkle and light up milky ways'. He however reiterates in this stanza of the rigorous movements of the daffodils as he mentioned in the first stanza. 'Tossing their heads in sprightly dance' is the phrase he uses in this stanza to magnify the joyous atmosphere created by these dancing daffodils. Hence the daffodils are symbols of joy. This poem can be themed 'freedom' or even titled 'an escape-way from solitude' as much as it was titled 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' for the writer found himself a source of delight as the daffodils entertained him the best way they could.

The waves which seem to be the music they were dancing to were also dancing but not as good or as much as the daffodils, which was appealing to the writer. In the writer's words as regards the performance of the daffodils compared to the waves, 'they out-did the sparkling waves in glee. ' Lastly, there is a rhyming scheme in the last stanza which makes it all end soothing. Considering the final stanza as an entire poem on its own, one will give the patterns an 'a, b, a, b, c, c'. The writer additional employs imagery here to explain how he had captured those moments in his minds eye to revisit each time he feels lonely. He refers to the lone moment when he decides to remember the daffodils dance as 'the bliss of solitude. ' In essence, he no longer feels as bored or lonely as usual due to the loving memory of the daffodils. RICHARD CORY by Edwin Arlington Robinson This poem opens in a way that makes the reader realize Richard Cory is not the writer even though the poem is all about him. Its second line tells this all with the use of second person plural persona. Furthermore, 'we people on the pavement' gives a clue of who Richard was compare to the writers who seem to be commoners. Richard is learned, well mannered even envied by all and sundry for his prestige. 'We thought that he was everything, to make us wish that we were in his place' tells of how admirable Richard Cory was to the people.

Flowing through the stanzas till the final stanza, one will realize that not all that glitters is gold as ironically, Richard turned out to be the least pleased with himself. He who was envied by all 'went home and put a bullet through his head. ' This tells that although Richard is an admirable character in the narrative, he turned out to be a mystery to all.

In conclusion, the rhyming scheme employed in this poem is one that flows in an alternate way beautifully. With the four lines in the first stanza ending in 'town, him, crown, slim' every other stanza ends in a similar way. i.e. a, b, a, b; c, d, c, d etc. This makes the poem interesting to read while still maintaining its poetry form.