Talk:I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I may be wrong, but I think the title of the poem is Daffodils. Can anyone confirm either way? Deb 17:23, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * I thought so too; first hit from Google for "daffodils" is another copy of the poem on the same website referenced for the text, and the second is yet another.
 * However the "Wordsworth Trust" refers to it as "I wandered lonely as a cloud, so my best guess is that the editors of those 2 anthologies chose to change the name. Hv 14:30, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

i wandered lonley as a cloud is the name

If so, shouldn't the Wikisource link be called by the same name?--84.12.21.104 22:16, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Clouds -vs- Cows
Is there a source for the claim that Wordsworth's first choice of words was "lonely as a cow"?

And...the last paragraph states "The effect that the song had on the poet..." What song, exactly? Joyous | Talk 16:58, 8 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Actually, there was some sort of confusion. What I meant was The effect that the Daffy Ducks had on the poet is similar to the effect of the maiden's song in The Solitary Reaper... It sort of got transformed into gibberish on the way. I've corrected it now. Thanks for bringing that up.-- May the Force be with you! Shreshth91 ($ |-| r 3 $ |-| t |-|)  12:59, 9 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Since no citation seemed to be forthcoming for the "cow" statement, I've removed it. Joyous | Talk 22:44, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * I can't find a source now, but i remember hearing somewhere, maybe on a TV programme, that Wordsworth originally wanted


 * I wandered lonely as a cow


 * But his sister made him change it to cloud I'll look for a referenceCDuck2 09:47, 15 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Stephen Fry mentioned it on QI some time ago, if that helps. Actually is that even a valid source for reference? AbsenceWiki 21:18, 23 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Possible reference found: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/apr/10/musicnews.books. Thoughts? --Dom (talk) 18:21, 15 August 2008 (UTC)


 * More to the point... Are we to believe the original lines were "I wandered lonely as a cow / That floats on high o'er vales and hills"? Cows generate a lot of methane, but not enough, methinks, to render them airborne. (I like the MAD version better, anyhow.) WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 16:36, 22 July 2013 (UTC)

SparkNotes
The commentary section is a verbatim copy of SparkNotes' section on the poem. Copyright infringement? 83.147.171.12 17:01, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, as well as non-encyclopedic (Wikipedia should only report literary criticism, not create it). I'll remove it. Junes 19:09, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Name judgement
I believe that reference to the poem as "The Daffodils" is in fact often used, as apposed to only in anthologies, and I would think that including that in a disambiguation page or in at least the search would be helpful for those who use this name for it. But I am not sure, and I am not knowledgable to know how or even if I can acomplish any of this. First, lets confirm this. Greenmanperil 23:12, 9 May 2007 (UTC)


 * When i dealt with this poem in high school, It was taught to us as "The daffodils". - Amog  |T a l k 15:39, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Leunig Poem
There is a parody of this poem by Leunig which criticizes Australian Parliament, I'm unable to find a link for it. Anyone know where to find it? D-Ozols 07:08, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Glendale?
"The inspiration for the poem may have been a walk he took with his sister Dorothy around Glendale, near their house in the Lake District. It may also have been nearby Glencoyne Bay....Dorothy later wrote in reference to this walk: When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park, we saw a few daffodils..."

First of all, their home was at Dove cottage in Grasmere - where does Glendale come from? - it appears to be a valley in Northumberland or a place in the Isle of Sky from the link. Secondly, Dorothy said they were walking near Gowbarrow Park which is near Ullswater, not Grasmere, so it would appear that the first reference (which actually says near Grasmere) is wrong. Can anyone cast any light on this? If not I'll change it. Richerman (talk) 00:55, 5 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I honestly don't know where Glendale came from. Probably an error on my part. With reference to Ullswater/Grasmere, it's somewhat more complicated. Wordsworth Point is in Glencoyne Bay, which seems to be separate to Gowbarrow Park ("The falls and surrounding are[a] of Gowbarrow Park are owned by National Trust, as is the area of Glencoyne Bay known as Wordsworth Point.") although they're pretty close from what I could cartographise. Dorothy's writing about this somewhat later. We have to think, verifiability not truth, and representing sources as they are. So my corrected suggestion it may have been either Grasmere or Glencoyne seems reasonable. I think you could push it a little more towards the latter if you wish. - Jarry1250 [Humorous? Discuss.] 09:36, 5 April 2010 (UTC)
 * The first reference, which says it was Grasmere, is from a study guide written by an American based in Pennsylvania, the second is from a personal website written by someone in the Lake District. I don't think either of them could be considered particularly reliable, but the fact that Wordworth point is on Ullswater suggests to me that Glencoyne bay is the generally accepted location and the first reference is just plain wrong. I've also found a reference from the Wordsworth Trust that says it was Ullswater, and I think they are more reliable than someone writing from a few thousand miles away so I've changed the text to say it was Ullswater. Richerman (talk) 21:38, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Bowing and scraping to Wiki convention
This is about semantics. This is about logic. This is about the use of what Wiki MOS calls "weasel words". This is about the enforced use of weaselly terms so as to avoid what policing editors label POV or "Peacock statements".

It is usually considered Wordsworth's most famous work.[3]

In this instance "is usually considered" is weaselly waffle. However, as soon as it is removed, the words "most famous work" will be challenged as "POV" or "Peacock statement".

You can't win. You either write something totally ridiculous, in order to conform, or you tell it like it is, and then fight to maintain it.


 * Famous is a statement of the way in which a thing is perceived.
 * Usually considered.....blah, blah is also a statement of the way in which a thing is perceived.


 * It is acceptable to write "This poem is usually considered to be Wordsworth's finest work".
 * It is not acceptable to write "This poem is usually considered to be Wordsworth's most famous work".
 * The statement is utterly ridiculous.  It is either is or isn't the most famous.  Its fame is dependent on people's knowledge of it;  Its fame is not dependent on people "considering"  it "famous".
 * No-one "considers" a thing to be famous. They "consider it "great", "wonderful", "amazing", "beautiful", "moving", "hilarious", "awesome" or "terrifying".  The accumulation of this perception amounts to "fame".
 * You might know a thing is "famous" without understanding why, but "considering" a thing "famous" is meaningless. (Examples of things that people typically know to be famous, without understanding why include the Mona Lisa, Hamlet and Death in Venice (film).)

Is Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian man the most famous drawing in the world, parodied by the Simpsons, by Garfield, and by every student with a wall, a piece of chalk and a camera? It the Eiffel Tower the most famous landmark in Paris? Is Marilyn Monroe the most famous screen goddess of the 20th century?

Challenge the banality that demands the illogical insertion of a meaningless phrase "is generally considered' before the word "famous"!  Be daring!  Scrap the stupid and meaningless conventions of Wkipidia that get in the way of stating that what is beyond doubt Wordsworth's most famous' poem, is in fact just that!  The reference that is given doesn't state that it is "considered famous".  Find several more reference that label it his "most famous" and give them all.

Amandajm (talk) 04:53, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

Infobox?
I suggest to restore an infobox as in 2012, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:15, 13 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Thank you, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:37, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

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Grammar error
Between is a preposition. Prepositions take objects. Text should be “between him” not “between he.” Cordelia15 (talk) 13:36, 3 May 2023 (UTC)