A Reading of keats 英国文学 济慈

A Reading of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

As to the statement in this poem “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”some critics are puzzled by the relation of beauty to truth. But if one puts it into the context of the poem in account of its relevance, then one will see it is justified.

The poem begins on a note of paradox, though a mild one; for we ordinarily do not expect an urn to speak at all; and yet Keats begins his poem by emphasizing the apparent contradiction.

The urn is a “bride of quietness,” and a “historian” too. The sylvan historian does not speak. What it does give is action which is not the less intense for all that the urn is cool marble. The words “mad” and “ecstasy” occur, but it is the quiet, rigid urn which gives the dynamic picture. And the paradox goes further: the scene is one of violent love-making, a Bacchanalian scene, but the urn itself is like a “still unravish’d bride,” or like a child, a child “of silence and slow time.”The urn is young for all its antiquity and time which destroys so much has “fostered” it.

The first lines of stanza II state a rather bold paradox. The unheard music is sweeter than any audible music. The pipes might, although “unheard,” be shrill, just as the action which is frozen in the figures on the urn can be violent and ecstatic. This general paradox runs through the stanza: action goes on though the actors are motionless.

Then there is a shift in the tone. “Thou canst not leave/ Thy song,”may be interpreted: the musician cannot leave the song even if he would: he is fettered to it, a prisoner. In the same way, one could enlarge on the hint that the lover is not wholly satisfied and content: “never canst thou kiss, /…yet, do not grieve.”Here the poet is ironical.

There is in stanza III the increased stress on the paradoxical element. For example, the boughs cannot “bid the spring adieu,”“nor ever can those trees be bare,” but the implication is: the falling leaves are a gesture, a word of farewell to the joy of spring. The melodist of stanza II played sweeter music because unheard, but here, in stanza III, it is implied that he does not tire of his song for the same reason that the lover does not tire of his love-----neither song nor love is consummated. The songs are “ for ever new” because they cannot be completed. This suggests that the lover is not satisfied. The love which a line earlier was “warm” and “panting” becomes suddenly in the next line, “All breathing human passion far above.” It is above all breathing passion, and therefore, not human passion at all. Keats is aware that the frozen moment of loveliness is more dynamic than is the fluid world of reality only because it is frozen. The love depicted on the urn remains warm and young because it is not human flesh at all, but cold, ancient marble. Isn’t this ironical and

sad? The dead is more alive than the living, and cold, ancient stones are more warm and fresh than the breathing flesh and blood.

In stanza IV the “reality” of the little town has a very close relation to the urn’s character as a historian. If the earlier stanzas have been concerned with such paradoxes as the ability of static carving to convey dynamic action, of the soundless pipes to play music sweeter than that of the heard melody, of the figured lover to have a love more warm and panting than that of breathing flesh and blood, so in the same way the town implied by the urn comes to have a richer and more important history than that of actual cities. Indeed, the imagined town is to the figured procession as the unheard melody is to the carved pipes of the unwearied melodist. And the poet, by pretending to take the town as real-----so real that he can imagine the effect of its silent streets upon the stranger who chances to come into it------has suggested in the most powerful way its essential reality for him and for us.

In stanza V the rich, almost breathing world which the poet has conjured up for us contracts and hardens into the decorated motifs on the urn itself: “with brede/ Of marble men and maidens overwrought.”The beings who have a life above life----“All breathing human passion far above”-----are marble, after all. The recognition that the men and maidens are frozen, fixed run through

the second, third and fourth stanzas as an ironic undercurrent. The central paradox of the poem comes to conclusion in the phrase, “Cold Pastoral.” The word “pastoral” suggests warmth, the natural, etc. Even a cold urn is pastoral in contrast to the reality. The urn itself is a “silent form” and it speaks, not by means of statement, but by “teasing us out of thought.” It is as enigmatic as eternity is, for, like eternity, its history is beyond time, outside time, and for this very reason bewilders our time-ridden minds: it teases us. “This generation” means what springs from human loins----Adam’s breed, and so men are intimately wedded to death and time. The urn will remain. The “Sylvan historian”will recite its history to other generations.

What will it say to them? Presumably, what it says to the poet now: that imaginative insight embodies the basic and fundamental perception of men and nature. The urn is beautiful, and yet its beauty is based on an imaginative perception of essentials. Such a vision is beautiful but it is also true. It is a valid perception into reality. The urn contrasts the ugliness of human life and tells the truth that although the urn is a cold pastoral, still it is a appealing to the poet in contrast to the reality of a burning forehead and a parching tongue. In this way the beauty is true. And truth of human life is what is brought forth by the beauty of the urn being contrasted with the

reality of life. So Keats writes this statement. According to the development of the context this statement is justified. In a world of change the urn which captures moments of intense experience in the attitudes of grace and freezes them into marble immobility is a correlative for Keats’ concern with the longing for permanence.

As to the puzzle “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” one can summarize the answer already implied thus: throughout the poem the poet has stressed the paradox of the speaking urn. First, the urn itself can tell a story, can give a history. Then, the various figures depicted upon the urn play music or speak or sing. If we have been alive to these items, we shall not, perhaps, be too much surprised to have the urn speak once more, not in the sense in which it tells a story, but, to have it speak on a higher level, to have it make a commentary on its own nature.

(完整)英国文学史及选读__期末试题及答案,推荐文档

考试课程：英国文学史及选读考核类型：A 卷 考试方式：闭卷出卷教师: XXX 考试专业：英语考试班级：英语xx班 I.Multiple choice (30 points, 1 point for each) select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. 1._____，a typical example of old English poetry ,is regarded today as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. A.The Canterbury Tales B.The Ballad of Robin Hood C.The Song of Beowulf D.Sir Gawain and the Green Kinght 2._____is the most common foot in English poetry. A.The anapest B.The trochee C.The iamb D.The dactyl 3.The Renaissance is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, which one of the following is NOT such an event? A.The rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture. B.England’s domestic rest C.New discovery in geography and astrology D.The religious reformation and the economic expansion 4._____is the most successful religious allegory in the English language. A.The Pilgrims Progress B.Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners C.The Life and Death of Mr.Badman D.The Holy War 5.Generally, the Renaissance refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries, its essence is _____. A.science B.philosophy C.arts D.humanism 6.“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”(Shakespeare, Sonnets18)What does“this”refer to ? A.Lover. B.Time. C.Summer. D.Poetry. 7.“O prince, O chief of my throned powers, /That led th’ embattled seraphim to war/Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds/Fearless, endangered Heaven’s perpetual king”In the third line of the above passage quoted from Milton’s Paradise Los t, the phrase“thy conduct”refers to _____conduct. A.God’s B.Satan’s C.Adam’s D.Eve’s

英国文学期末考试题目(英语专业必备)

一．中古英语时期 ?Beowulf is the oldest poem in the English language, and the most important specimen (范例、典范)of Anglo-Saxon literature, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language. ?The romance is a popular literary form in the medieval period（中世纪）. It uses verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. ?Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the greatest English poets, whose masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales（《坎特伯雷故事集》）,was one of the most important influences on the development of English literature. ?Chaucer is considered as the father of English poetry and the founder of English realism. 二．文艺复兴Renaissance ?Renaissance refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries. It marks a transition(过渡) from the medieval to the modern world. ?It started in Italy with the flowering of painting, sculpture（雕塑）and literature, and then spread to the rest of Europe. ?Humanism is the essence of Renaissance -----Man is the measure of all things. ?This was England’s Golden Age in literature. Queen Elizabeth reigned over the country in this period. The real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama. The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England ? ?“Of Studies” is the most popular of Bacon’s 58 essays. ?Thomas More ——Utopia ?Edmund Spenser——The Faerie Queene 相关练习 ? 1. Which is the oldest poem in the English language? ? A. Utopia B. Faerie Queene ? C. Beowulf D. Hamlet ? 2. _____ is the father of English poetry. ? A. Edmund Spenser B. William Shakespeare ? C. Francis Bacon D. Geoffrey Chaucer ? 3. ____ is not a playwright during the Renaissance period on England. ? A. William Shakespeare B. Geoffrey Chaucer ? C. Christopher Marlowe D. Ben Johnson 三．莎士比亚William Shakespeare ?“All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”——William Shakespeare ?William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright in the world and the finest poet who has written in the English language. Shakespeare understood people more than any other writers. He could create characters that have

2018年自学《英国文学选读》试题及答案

2018年自学《英国文学选读》试题及答案 1. What are Shakespeare ’s achievements? a. Shakespeare represented the trend of history in giving voice to de desires and aspirations of the people. b. Shakespeare’s humanism: more important than his historical sense of his time, Shakespeare in his plays reflects the spirit of his age. c. Shakespeare’s characterization: Shakespeare was most successful in his characterization. In his plays he described a great number of characters. d. Shakespeare’s originality: Shakespeare drew most of his materials from sources that were known to his audienc e. But his plays are original because he instilled into the old materials a new spirit that gives new life to his plays. e. Shakespeare as a great poet: Shakespeare was not only a great dramatist, but also a great poet. Apart from his sonnets and long poems, his dramas are poetry. f. Shakespeare as master of the English language. 2. What are the basic characteristics of ballads? a. The beginning is often abrupt. b. There are strong dramatic elements. c. The story is often told through dialogue and action. d. The theme is often tragic, though there are a number of comic

英国文学试题

Instructions： This examination consists of 5 parts， and the total time for the examination is 2 hours. All the answers should be entered onto the Answer Sheet. Part I：Multiple Choices （10%） Choose the best answer to the following sentences. 1.Which of the following is NOT a feature of Beowulf？ A. Alliteration B. Anglo-Saxons’ early life in England C. Germanic language D. The national epic of Anglo-Saxon people 2.English Renaissance Period was an age of. A. prose and novel B. poetry and drama C. essays and journals D. ballads and songs 3.The main literary form of the early 17th century was poetry. John Milton was acknowledged as the greatest. Besides him， there were two groups of poets. They were the Cavalier poets and. A. the lake poets B. the university wits C. the Metaphysical poets D. the Romantic poets 4. Pamela is widely considered to be the first novel and was written by ___________. A. Thomas Hardy B. James Joyce C. Samuel Richardson D. Henry Fielding 5.The publication of， which was the joint work of William Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge， marked the beginning of the Romantic Age in England. A. Don Juan B. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner C. Lyrical Ballads D. Queen Mab 6.Among the most famous realistic novelists of the Victorian age are， W. M. Thackeray， Bronte sisters， etc. A. Joseph Conrad B. Henry Fielding C. Charles Dickens D. D. H. Lawrence 7.In James Joyce’s ____________ the story “Eveline” paints a portrait of a young woman from Dublin deciding whether or not to leave her hometown. A. Ulysses B. Orlando C. Dubliners D. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 8.In the 18th century England， satire was much used in writing. Literature of this age produced some excellent satirists， such as Jonathan Swift， Henry Fielding and.

英国文学史及选读 复习要点总结

《英国文学史及选读》第一册复习要点 1. Beowulf: national epic of the English people; Denmark story; alliteration, metaphors and understatements （此处可能会有填空，选择等小题） 2. Romance （名词解释） 3. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”: a famous roman about King Arthur’s story 4. Ballad（名词解释） 5. Character of Robin Hood 6. Geoffrey Chaucer: founder of English poetry; The Canterbury Tales (main contents; 124 stories planned, only 24 finished; written in Middle English; significance; form: heroic couplet) 7. Heroic couplet (名词解释)8. Renaissance（名词解释）9.Thomas More——Utopia 10. Sonnet（名词解释）11. Blank verse（名词解释）12. Edmund Spenser “The Faerie Queene” 13. Francis Bacon “essays” esp. “Of Studies”（推荐阅读，学习写正式语体的英文文章的好参照，本文用词正式优雅，多排比句和长句，语言造诣非常高，里面很多话都可以引用做格言警句，非常值得一读） 14. William Shakespeare四大悲剧比较重要，此外就是罗密欧与朱立叶了，这些剧的主题，背景，情节，人物形象都要熟悉，当然他最重要的是Hamlet这是肯定的。他的sonnet也很重要，最重要属sonnet18。（其戏剧中著名对白和几首有名的十四行诗可能会出选读） 15. John Milton 三大史诗非常重要，特别是Paradise Lost和Samson Agonistes。对于Paradise Lost需要知道它是blank verse写成的，故事情节来自Old Testament，另外要知道此书theme和Satan的形象。 16. John Bunyan——The Pilgrim’s Progress 17. Founder of the Metaphysical school——John Donne; features of the school: philosophical poems, complex rhythms and strange images. 18. Enlightenment（名词解释） 19. Neoclassicism（名词解释） 20. Richard Steele——“The Tatler” 21. Joseph Addison——“The Spectator”这个比上面那个要重要，注意这个报纸和我们今天的报纸不一样，它虚构了一系列的人物，以这些人物的口气来写报纸上刊登的散文，这一部分要仔细读。 22. Steel’s and Addison’s styles and their contributions 23. Alexander Pope: “Essay on Criticism”, “Essay on Man”, “The Rape of Lock”, “The Dunciad”; his workmanship (features) and limitations 24. Jonathan Swift: “Gulliver’s Travels”此书非常重要，要知道具体内容，就是Gulliver游历过的四个地方的英文名称，和每个部分具体的讽刺对象; （我们主要讲了三个地方）“A Modest Proposal”比较重要，要注意作者用的irony 也就是反讽手法。 25. The rise and growth of the realistic novel is the most prominent achievement of 18th century English literature. 26. Daniel Defoe: “Robinson Crusoe”, “Moll Flanders”, 当然是Robinson Crusoe比较重要，剧情要清楚，Robinson Crusoe的形象和故事中蕴涵的早期黑奴的原形，以及殖民主义的萌芽。另外注意Defoe的style和feature，另外Defoe是forerunner of English realistic novel。 27. Samuel Richardson——“Pamela” (first epistolary novel), “Clarissa Harlowe”, “Sir Charles Grandison” 28. Henry Fielding: “Joseph Andrews”, “Jonathan Wild”, “Tom Jones”第一个和第三个比较重要，需要仔细看。他是一个比较重要的作家，另外Fielding也被称为father of the English novel. 29. Laurence Sterne——“Tristram Shandy”项狄传 30. Richard Sheridan——“The School for Scandal” 31. Oliver Goldsmith——“The Traveller”(poem), “The Deserted V illage” (poem) (both two poems were written by heroic couplet), “The Vicar of Wakefield” (novel), “The Good-Natured Man” (comedy), “She stoops to Conquer” (comedy),

2014-2015英国文学史及选读期末试题B

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班级_________________学号姓名考试科目英美文学史及作品选读【（1）】B卷闭卷共 5 页 学生答题不得超过此线····································密························封························线································

班级_________________学号姓名考试科目英美文学史及作品选读【（1）】B卷闭卷共 5 页 学生答题不得超过此线····································密························封························线································

英国文学试题答案

英国文学选读样题答案 一、选择题（本大题共15小题，每小题1分，总计15分） 1---5 ABCCC 6---10 ABBAB 11---15 BBAAC 二、填空（本大题共10小题，每小题2分，总计20分） 1．Heroic 2 comedies 3. couplet 4. metaphysical poetry 5. Eve 6. My Luve’s Like a Red, Red, Rose 7.Houyhnynms 8. Coleridge 9. Odes 10. Emily Bronte 三、诗歌分析（本大题共4个小题，每小题分值见各小题，共20分） 1．William Wordsworth; I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 2．Iambic tetrameter; ababcc ababcc 3. The waves beside them danced; but they _ / _ / _ / - / Out-did | the spark|ling waves | in glee: _ / _ / _ _ _ / A po|et could |not but |be gay, _ / _/ _ / _ _ In such | a jo|cund com|pany: _ / _ / _ / _ / I gazed--|and gazed-|-but lit|tle thought _ / _ / _ / _ / What wealth |the show |to me |had brought: 4. 水波在边上欢舞，但水仙 比闪亮的水波舞得更乐； 有这样快活的朋友做伴， 诗人的心儿被欢愉充塞； 我看了又看，却没领悟 这景象给了我什么财富。（黄杲炘） 四、小说分析（本大题共5个小题，每小题分值见每小题，共20分） 1.Jane Eyre; Sharlotte Bronte 2.He had a mad wife who set the building on fire and climbed to the roof of the building. He tried to save her. But the staircase broke and he fell down He was wounded and became blind. 3.When Jane knew that Mr. Rochester had a wife. She was surprised and fled from Thornfield. Mr. Rochester was very sad at it.

(完整word版)吴伟仁--英国文学史及选读--名词解释

①Beowulf: The national heroic epic of the English people. It has over 3,000 lines. It describes the battles between the two monsters and Beowulf, who won the battle finally and dead for the fatal wound. The poem ends with the funeral of the hero. The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use if alliteration. Other features of it are the use of metaphors(暗喻) and of understatements(含蓄). ②Alliteration: In alliterative verse, certain accented(重音) words in a line begin with the same consonant sound(辅音). There are generally 4accents in a line, 3 of which show alliteration, as can be seen from the above quotation. ③Romance: The most prevailing(流行的) kind of literature in feudal England was the Romance. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse(诗篇), sometimes in prose(散文), describing the life and adventures of a noble hero, usually a knight, as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournament(竞赛), or fighting for his lord in battle and the swearing of oaths. ④Epic: An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significantly to a culture or nation. The first epics are known as primacy, or original epics. ⑤Ballad: The most important department of English folk literature is the ballad which is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas(诗节), with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The subjects of ballads are various in kind, as the struggle of young lovers against their feudal-minded families, the conflict between love and wealth, the cruelty of jealousy, the criticism of the civil war, and the matters and class struggle. The paramount(卓越的) important ballad is Robin Hood(《绿林好汉》). ⑥Geoffrey Chaucer杰弗里.乔叟: He was an English author, poet, philosopher and diplomat. He is the founder of English poetry. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. His best remembered narrative is the Canterbury Tales(《坎特伯雷故事集》), which the Prologue(序言) supplies a miniature(缩影) of the English society of Chaucer’s time. That is why Chaucer has been called “the founder of English realism”. Chaucer affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness on earth and opposes(反对) the dogma of asceticism(禁欲主义) preached(鼓吹) by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic(抑扬格) meter(the “heroic couplet”) to English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse. ⑦【William Langland威廉.朗兰: Piers the Plowman《农夫皮尔斯》】

英国文学练习题及答案

1.The national epic of the Anglo-Saxons is ____. A Robin Hood B Sir Gawain and the Green Knight C The Canterbury Tales D Beowulf 2. ____was the most outstanding single romance on the Arthurian legend written in alliterative verse. A The Canterbury Tales B Piers the Plowman C Sir Gawain and the Green Knight D Beowulf 3. ____was famous for The Canterbury Tales. A Geoffrey Chaucer B John Milton C William Shakespeare D Francis Bacon 4. Most of the ballads of the 15th century focused on the legend about ____ as a heroic figure. A Green Nights B Gawain C Robin Hood D Hamlet 5.In the 16th century, Thomas More’s work ____became immediately popular after its publication. A Paradise Lost B A Pleasant Satire of the Three Estates C Of Studies D Utopia 6. ____was Edmund Spencer’s masterpiece which has been regarded as one of the grea t poems in the English language. A Amoretti B The Shepherd’s Calendar C The Faerie Queene D Four Hymns 7. ____ is from Shakespeare’s sonnet No.18. A “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” B “To be or not to be: that is the question” C “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” D “No longer mourn for me when I am dead” 8. _____, the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, was born in London about 1340. A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. Sir Gawain C. Francis Bacon D. John Dryden 9.The four great tragedies written by Shakespeare are Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and ___ _. A. Antony and Cleopatra B. Julius Caesar C Twelfth Night D King Lear 10. Which of the following does not belong to Shakespeare’s romantic love comedies? A Twelfth Night B The Tempest C As You Like It D The Merchant of Venice D C A C D C C A D B 1. All of the following are the most eminent dramatists in the Renaissance England except______.

英国文学选择题

1. The Canterbury Tales was written in ________. A. Old English B. Middle English C. Modern English D. Current Modern English 2. Pilgrims travel to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury in ________. A. March B. April C. May D. June 3.The story of Hamlet takes place in ________. A. England B. Denmark C. Italy D. Germany 4. Shakespeare’s four great tragedies are _________ A. Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, King Lear, Timon of Athens B. Twelfth Night, Cynbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest C. Hamlet, Othello, King John, and Macbeth D. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth 5.A sonnet is a poem of ________ lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to a certain definite patterns. A. 8 B. 6 C. 14 D. 24 6.Francis Bacon was ________ contemporary A. Geoffrey Chaucer’s B. Thomas More’s C. William Shakespeare’s D. John Milton’s 7.John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 10” expresses ________. A. the fear of death B. the admiration of death C. the triumph over death D. the pleasure from death 8.The Metaphysical Poetry is characterized by its extensive use of ________. A. the impersonal voice B. conceits C. traditional symbols D. literary allusions

英国文学试题

1．{The Isles of Greece} QUESTIONS: 1. Who is the writer of these lines? Byron 2. It is taken from the writer's masterpiece entitled ___ "Don Juan"_________. 3. Who is "Sappho" in line 2? Sappho is an ancient Greek poetess , known for her passionate love lyrics. 4. Who is "Phoebus" in line 4? It's Apollo, the Greek Sun-god. 5. Whom does the "Scian muse" refer to? Homer, because Scio claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. 6. What does the whole section "The Isles of Greece" write about? The section "The Isles of Greece" is among Byron's most effective poetical utterances on national freedom. All the 16 stanzas are supposed to have been sung by a Greek singer at the wedding feast of Don Juan and Haidee on the isle of Greece. In the song, by contrasting the freedom enjoyed by the Greek ancient people with the enslavement of the early 19th century Greeks under the Turkish rule, the poet calls on the Greeks to struggle for their national freedom and liberation. 7. This selection consists of two six-lined stanzas of iambic tetrameter, with a rime scheme of ___ Ababcc__________ What does the poem mainly write about? This poem is about the beauty of nature. There is a vivid picture of the daffodils, mixed with the poet’s philosophical and somewhat mystical thoughts. What is the rime scheme in each stanza? ababcc 2．I wandered lonely as a cloud 1.What does the poem mainly write about? This poem is about the beauty of nature. There is a vivid picture of the daffodils, mixed with the po et’s philosophical and somewhat mystical thoughts. 2.What is the rime scheme in each stanza? ababcc 3. What is the poet’s view on nature? And how is that view shown in this poem? Wordsworth’s conception of nature is that nature has a lot to do with man, it can not only refresh one’s soul and fill one with happiness, but it can also be reduced into a beautiful memory which will comfort one’s heart when in solitude. In the narrative poem, the poet successfully compared his loneliness with the happy daffodils. The daffodils, the symbol of the nature, bring great joy and relief to the speaker. The diction of this poem is, in general, simple, direct, and clear. The image of the daffodils conveys qualities of movement and radiance through carefully chosen words. At first sight, the flowers are seen as “fluttering and dancing”; then the poet compares the flowers to the “stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way”, and then to the “sparkling waves” of a nearby lake. The daffodils are described as “golden”, not yellow, because “golden” suggests more than a color; it connotes light. These words of movement and radiance create a picture of nature as vital, animated, and glowing. Words for joy (glee, sprightly, gay, jocund, bliss) are used in a crescendo that suggests the intensity of the speaker’s happiness.