Question

What does William Wordsworth mean by "inward eye" in the following bolded line? 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; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. this poem Wordsworth's mind Wordsworth's picture frame someone's story 

Answer 1

The daffodils seemed happier than the waves.

Answer 2

The "inward eye" refers to the mind recalling an image. He's saying that while he lays on his couch he sees the daffodils in his mind; using his memory of what he had seen.