The version of the poem used to create this study guide appears in: Applebaum, Stanley, editor. English Romantic Poetry: An Anthology. Dover Publications, Inc., 1996. Parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth. Perhaps the most well-known of all of Wordsworth's poems, it is also commonly referred to as "Daffodils," in reference to the poem's primary subject. The piece is said to have been inspired by an event in 1802 in which the writer came across a field of daffodils while out walking with his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth. It was later published in 1807 in Wordsworth's collection Poems, in Two Volumes. A revised version of the poem was published once more in 1815.

The relatively brief poem, consisting of 24 lines divided into four sestets, describes an individual wandering by themselves through the countryside and stumbling upon a field of golden daffodils. The journeyer is taken aback by the rapturous beauty of the flowers, and goes on to describe them in great detail, comparing them to other natural subjects and images such as the waves on the bay and the stars in the sky. While in this moment of ecstasy the journeyer does not fully comprehend the impact that this vision has upon them, they later find that in their moments of solitude they often return to this image of the daffodils, which fills their heart with joy.

As with many of Wordsworth's poems, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a celebration of the inherent beauty of nature. Similarly, it features a solitary speaker who engages in a rigorous process of interpretation and introspection as they attempt to comprehend an impactful experience.