To Daffodils

The speaker does not address their poem to another human being, but to specific objects. They salute the “Fair Daffodils” in Line 1. Also, they do not seem to address the flowers as a singular entity, but rather use the first-person plural pronoun “we.” The speaker addresses the daffodils from the perspective of collective human experience, which is how individuals “weep” (Line 1). Yet, it is in the second line readers discover why individuals are so sad. The audience becomes sad when the beautiful daffodils “haste away” (Line 2), and when their blooms fade and die “so soon” (Line 2). Before the blossoms of the daffodils can be fully appreciated and savored, they are gone. The speaker compares this quick blooming and fading of the daffodils to how the “early-rising sun” (Line 3) has not yet reached, or “attain’d” the “noon” position (Line 4). The daffodil tends to bloom in late winter or in early spring, a timeframe positioned in the beginning of the Western calendar. If it is still cold and the weather deters people from going outside, the daffodils cannot be fully appreciated. Similarly, if the sun rises too early before people are awake to see it and take advantage of its light, the orb’s full brightness will fade before it reaches its peak position in the sky.

After expressing the collective sadness people experience from nature’s waning, the speaker pleads with the daffodils to “[s]tay, stay” (Line 5) in the second half of the poem’s first stanza. The speaker wishes to negotiate with the daffodils so they can remain a little while longer and share their blossoms with the world. Instead of being gone by noon like the fading sun, the speaker asks the daffodils to wait until closer to nightfall to lose their beauty and disappear. The speaker notes the progress of time through terms such as “hasting day” (Line 6). The events of the day seem to quickly “run” (Line 7) by the minutes and hours. These words and phrases impute the speed of time passing and raise a sense of anxiety in the audience, as if things are happening too fast and the audience cannot quite to catch up. If the daffodils wait a short while longer and only die away at “even-song” (Line 8), then the collective “we” of humanity will be able to catch up with them and share some quality time as they “pray’d together” (Line 9). This religious devotion and duty complete, the collective society’s timeline will align with the daffodils timeline. Society will “go” or move in tandem “along” (Line 10) with the daffodils for the time they have left. All will fade away together.

As the poem moves into its second stanza, the speaker presents arguments to the daffodils as to why they should extend their blooming period and synchronize with the timeline of human mortality. The speaker argues “we” (Line 11), meaning humans, have an equally “short time” (Line 11) on the earth. By referring to the daffodils as “you” (Line 11), the speaker continues their direct address. The speaker further highlights this ephemeral quality of life; they equate their lifespan with that of the daffodils, stating humans “have as short a spring” (Line 12). When people think of spring, they may conjure visions of grass growing, new life being born into the world, and buds opening. It is the prime period of fruitfulness and vivacity. The speaker notes that individuals’ ability to enjoy this period of youth and beauty is just as short for humans as it is for the flowers.

Just as the daffodils must eventually wither and lose their petals, mankind reaches its end, as well. Once their prime is passed, they experience “growth” and “meet decay” (Line 13). Just as all beings and living organisms enter the world, all things must pass and leave mortal realm. Directly addressing the daffodils again, the speaker notes how just as “you” (Line 14)—the flowers—fade and decay so does “anything” (Line 14) that exists in this fleeting moment of existence. Humans “die” (Line 15) just as the “hours” (Line 16) of the daffodils tick toward a concluding stroke. Time does not stand still for any creature, but rather throws its shadow on all. As the “summer’s rain” (Line 18) that saturates the earth to provide life and growth must eventually “dry” (Line 17), the vigor of life is not a constant for mankind. It weakens, wanes, and evaporates just as the moisture does from the daffodils’ soil. Similarly, the “pearls of morning’s dew” (Line 19), while beautiful and gem-like in the early morning sun, dissipate as the day progresses. As the dew disappears, so do life’s precious, fleeting moments. Once past, they are gone: “Ne’er to be found again” (Line 20).