William Wordsworth and his not-so-spontaneous overflow of powerful changes in “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud.” William Wordsworth wrote that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling: it originates from emotion collected in tranquility” (Owen, 329). Wordsworth revised “I wandered lonely as a cloud” after a period of reflection and recollection at the daffodil scene during a period that placed importance on nature, reflection and imagination. His revised version of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” should be considered the authoritative one as it is a better and more vivid description of the daffodil scene and reflects the literary movement of the time, i.e. Romanticism. The changes are strongly influenced by the Romantic period in which he revised the poem. Wordsworth did not feel that he had successfully depicted his memory of the daffodils in the first version and felt the need to make two changes and also add an extra stanza to better fit or reflect the Romantic period. In this essay I will discuss the common characteristics of poetry in the Romantic era from my reading of essays by various professionals on this topic. I will talk about the impact Wordsworth's changes and additions have on the poem by reflecting on his writing. I will also argue how the revised version of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is an improvement over the original version in terms of romantic poetry and should therefore be the authoritative version. The British Romantic period (1798-1832) is a period that many practitioners, from Aidan Day in “Romanticism” to Jerome McGann in “Rethinking Romanticism,” have spent their time studying and writing about. The main topic is how to define Roman...... middle of paper ......oem as a romantic poem in the revised version. Mary E. Burton describes Wordsworth's view of nature as “incomprehensibly ecstatic” and he was heavily influenced by the Romantic period and was inspired by the writing style and writing subjects of this time (300). The work of his colleagues influenced the changes he made to poetry. He adds additional details to the poem that highlight his love for nature and the beauty of the scene he is reflecting on. It shows us how important imagination and reflection are. The beauty of nature and the importance of the imagination are characteristic of the Romantic period of which Wordsworth was a part and by which he was greatly influenced. The second revised version was the one he decided he wanted the poem to be, knowing it would outlive him. It is fair to say that the revised version should be the “real” and authoritative version.