No More Learning

in the series of Poems, entitled, in the edition of
1807, "Moods of my own Mind. " In 1815, and afterwards, it was classed by
Wordsworth among his "Poems of the Imagination. "--Ed.




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 [1] daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 5
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. [2]

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. [3]

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay, [4] 15
In such a jocund [5] 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, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.



* * * * *


VARIANTS ON THE TEXT

[Variant 1:

1815.

. . . dancing . . . 1807. ]


[Variant 2:

1815.
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze. 1807]


[Variant 3: This stanza was added in the edition of 1815. ]


[Variant 4:

1807

. . . be but gay, 1836.

The 1840 edition returns to the text of 1807. ]


[Variant 5:

1815.

. . . laughing . . . 1807. ]



The following is from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal, under date,
Thursday, April 15, 1802:

"When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park, we saw a few
daffodils close to the water side.