PLEASE HELP Analysis of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was a Romantic poet. The Romantics began to write in the late 1700s. Before that, in the early 1700s or Classical period, poetry was judged to some degree on how well the poet adhered to the rules. The poets in the Romantic period objected to strictly following the rules. Instead of focusing on order, tradition, and authority, romantics preferred wildness, rebellion, and ego. Wordsworth’s poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” conveys many of these Romantic values through the use of rhythm, rhyme, diction (word choice), figurative language (metaphors), and tone. Let’s look first at the rhythm of the poem. The opening line sets the meter: I WAN/dered LONE/ly AS a CLOUD This pattern suggests movement, which is what the poem is about. Poets choose their structures for a reason. This poem is an example of form following function. In other words, Wordsworth selected the form based on what he was trying to say. In poetry, even the sound and shape of the poem (for example, how long the lines are) has something to do with the poem’s meaning. The rhyme scheme is a pattern commonly found in a dance, and this poem is about dancing. Now let’s look at Wordsworth’s diction, because he chose each word carefully and purposefully. Note the verbs in the first stanza—wandered, floats, fluttering, and dancing. They all suggest looseness, wildness, and freedom. The adjectives contribute to this feeling as well: golden, sprightly, and sparkling. The nouns throughout the poem are almost entirely references to nature: cloud, daffodils, trees, breeze, stars, bay, and waves. A stanza is a group of lines that form the basic recurring metrical unit of a poem. Stanzas also help organize a poem, just as paragraphs help organize prose. Each stanza may represent a self-contained idea, or it may provide a different thought, perspective, or tone on an idea from another stanza. When you consider all of these technical elements together, you can draw some conclusions befo

1. in creon’s first words to the chorus, what are the “storms” that threatened to destroy the ship of state?   polynices’ invation of the city with foreign armies was the “storms” eteocles and polynices decided to switch the crown every year, but after eteocles’ first year decided not to share it with polynices. polynices joined forces with foreign armies to invade the city and tried to take the crown from his brother, where he and eteocles killed each other   2. examine creon’s opening speech. what are his concerns? how does he feel about the city and its citizens? what are his motivations for banning the burial of polyneices? what would drive creon to place the concerns of the collective citizens over those of his family?   in creon’s opening speech, his concerns are to count on his citizens to rule. in addition, he wanted to give a clear message by not giving a proper burial to polyneices, if creon gave a proper burial to polyneices his people would think that he was an allied to the foreign forces that invaded the city and threatened the peace of his people.   creon placed the concerns of the collective citizens because he has no use for those who put individual concerns over the needs of his people 3. pay attention to creon’s speech at the beginning of the scene. what does creon think someone’s first loyalty should be and what comes second? do you think he is correct under some conditions? do you think he is wrong in some conditions? explain those conditions. creon thinks someone’s first loyalty should be with the concerns of the collective citizens and second comes our individual wants. i think he is correct because true loyalty takes place in the benefits of many not of a few.   4. what news is the sentry reluctant to deliver?   the sentry is reluctant to say that polyneices had a burial. 5. who does the chorus suggest might have done this?   the chorus suggests that the gods have done that 6. what is creon’s reaction and who does creon think is responsible? creon reacted abruptly and thinks it was a man who bribed his guard to bury polyneices