I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Many of us will probably recognise these words as the opening lines of William Wordsworth’s Daffodils, written in 1804 and first published in 1807. Now the poem is brought to life by Second Life’s master of visual poetry, Sheldon Bergman (SheldonBR) within his SLEA2 installation Visual Poetry.
I’ve covered Sheldon’s work in these pages, both in its own right and via his collaboration with Angelika Corrall as artists at and curators of the former DaphneArts Gallery in Second Life. I’ve always found Sheldon’s work to be visually and aurally engaging, rich in context and narrative, and so was only to happy to pop along to Visual Poetry ahead of the installation’s soft opening and at his invitation.
Wordsworth’s poem forms the focal point of Visual Poetry, presenting visitors with the opportunity to both partake of a walk similar in nature to that which inspired Wordsworth to pen his poem and at the same time become immersed in the poem imagery, aided by the selected music (played via local sounds rather than via the audio stream).
The poem, often referred to by its opening line, came about as a result a walk taken by Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, around Glencoyne Bay in England’s Lake District in April 1802. Whilst walking, they came across s field of daffodils dancing and waving in the breeze, easily rivalling the flick and flow of ripples and wave on the waters of the Bay; their yellow twinkling across the green of the shoreline offering a sight as beautiful and captivating as the stars in the night’s sky.
It was a sight which became so fixed in the poet’s imagination that it would continue to lift his mood and chase away what otherwise might have been afternoons or evening of dark reflection set in solitude; instead lifting his spirit and allowing his thoughts to dance once more with the daffodil’s sway and turn his solitude into thoughts of joy.
All of this is presented through Sheldon’s gently immersive installation. Experience-driven, visitors should, on arriving, touch the sign on the Landing Point wall and follow the instructions as presented for viewer settings and also accepting the Experience. The latter will then trigger the addition of the installation HUD and teleport visitors to the installation proper.
The main installation forms a landscape intended to evoke the rolling beauty of Glencoyne Bay and its shoreline. Theo building occupy the shore – the near being a small stone cabin, and the more distant a country chapel. Arrival will trigger the installation’s introduction on the HUD, followed by the music playback
The entire setting perfectly matches the poem’s intent, offering a scene of natural beauty in which daffodils are scattered across the green, rolling landscape, bring the opening lines of the poem to life. More than just a part of the setting as it sits amidst the daffodils and with sheep grazing in their field on the hill, the chapel is a reflection of Wordsworth’s own religious outlook, which grew from a conventional Anglican outlook common to his times to a more personal, nature-centric faith. The environment settings, meanwhile offer a touch of the vacant or pensive mood Wordsworth notes recollections of the daffodils helps him to escape.
It would be nice if the music continued or at least looped through the selected tracks rather than the single play-through, and for the setting to perhaps offer one or two places to sit outside and allow the mind to flutter and dance in the breeze or enjoy the jocund company of a companion. But even without these, Daffodils is an engaging installation, fully reflective of Wordsworth’s poem and his Romanticism.
I don’t know if this will be the only poem presented within Visual Poetry or the start of a series. I would hope for the latter, as I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed Sheldon’s work – but I’m only too aware of the work involved in putting out an installation like this. In the meantime, Daffodils will have a soft opening at 14:00 SLT, Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
Slurl Details
- Visual Poetry (SLEA2, rated Moderate)
