I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth wrote “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” around 1804, at the beginning of the Romantic period. The poem is inspired by an 1802 walking tour that Wordsworth took with his sister, Dorothy, during which they came upon a large group of daffodils. The 1815 revised version is thought to be the most anthologized poem in the world. In it, the speaker vividly describes the delight of encountering a “host” of daffodils—but ultimately reveals that it is the joy of their memory that he values most, because he can derive inspiration from the experience for years to come.