Context

Feeling outdoorsy? Good, because we're about to get nature-y.

These are the opening lines of Wordsworth's famous poem, "I wandered lonely as a cloud" a.k.a. "Daffodils."

Imagine the speaker of this poem out for a stroll in the gorgeous English countryside, when he comes across the patch of daffodils. The daffodils were, in fact, a real occurrence on one of the walks of Wordsworth and his sister.

As she writes in her journal, they come across a peculiar "highway" of daffodils (we're thinking the connotation of that word has changed a bit since then) resting near the bank of a lake. These daffodils must have made quite an impression because both Wordsworth siblings were captivated by them. Hence the poem.

Where you've heard it

We're betting you've seen these words slapped on a pretty picture of a field of flowers. Or maybe a view of the sky. Or some desert scene. Or the forest. Or seriously—anything natural. 

It's a favorite among the folks who think all of life's woes can be solved by a trip out of the city.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Well, the poem is about flowers.

Flowers.

And not even roses or chrysanthemums or other flowers of the more stuck-up variety. We're talking daffodils here. The everyman flower.

And the speaker even defines himself as a lonely cloud. How much more humble can you get? If you're really going to call such a nice poem pretentious, you need to wake up and smell the… daffodils. Or get your head out of the clouds. Or just read Joyce. Yeah, that'll do it for ya.