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Lesson 8
Daffodils
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• read two poems
• identified metaphors, similes and abbreviations in the poem
• answered comprehension questions
• written a paragraph about Daffodils
A Read the following poems about the Daffodil flower by two well-known English poets.
I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees.
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle in the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside then danced; but they
Outdid 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
For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
To Daffodils
by Robert Herrick
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attained his noon.
Stay, stay
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even song :
And, having prayed together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die.
As your hours do, and dry
Away
Like to the summer's rain,
Or as the pearls of morning's dew,
Ne'er to be found again.
B Make a list of similes and metaphors that you find in the two poems.
C Underline the abbreviations used in the two poems and write down the words in full.
D Which words in the first poem are related to happiness? Which words in the second poem are related to sorrow? Underline them.
E What kind of feelings does the flower inspire if each of the two poets?
F Answer the following questions.
1 Was anybody really dancing on the banks of the bay?
2 How many daffodils were there beside the bay? How did the poet count the flowers?
3 How did the daffodils provide pleasure to Wordsworth?
4 What characteristics of the daffodils does Herrick consider similar to human life?
5 According to HerricK, what other things have short lives?
G From your reading of the two poems, write a paragraph about the characteristics of the daffodil flower.
Focus:
Skills.
Intensive reading, speaking, writing. Functions.
Appreciating poetry. Grammar/Structure.
Adjectives for comparison, metaphors and similes. Vocabulary.
sprightly, jocund, bliss, glee, solitude, attained, decay.
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Lesson 8
Daffodils
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• read two poems
• identified metaphors, similes and abbreviations in the poem
• answered comprehension questions
• written a paragraph about Daffodils
A Read the following poems about the Daffodil flower by two well-known English poets.
I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees.
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle in the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside then danced; but they
Outdid 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
For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
To Daffodils
by Robert Herrick
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attained his noon.
Stay, stay
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even song :
And, having prayed together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die.
As your hours do, and dry
Away
Like to the summer's rain,
Or as the pearls of morning's dew,
Ne'er to be found again.
B Make a list of similes and metaphors that you find in the two poems.
C Underline the abbreviations used in the two poems and write down the words in full.
D Which words in the first poem are related to happiness? Which words in the second poem are related to sorrow? Underline them.
E What kind of feelings does the flower inspire if each of the two poets?
F Answer the following questions.
1 Was anybody really dancing on the banks of the bay?
2 How many daffodils were there beside the bay? How did the poet count the flowers?
3 How did the daffodils provide pleasure to Wordsworth?
4 What characteristics of the daffodils does Herrick consider similar to human life?
5 According to HerricK, what other things have short lives?
G From your reading of the two poems, write a paragraph about the characteristics of the daffodil flower.
Focus:
Skills.
Intensive reading, speaking, writing. Functions.
Appreciating poetry. Grammar/Structure.
Adjectives for comparison, metaphors and similes. Vocabulary.
sprightly, jocund, bliss, glee, solitude, attained, decay.