She Was a Phantom of Delight
by William Wordsworth
She was a Phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment’s ornament;
Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;
A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.
I saw her upon nearer view,
A Spirit, yet a Woman too!
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin-liberty;
A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet;
A Creature not too bright or good
For human nature’s daily food;For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine;
A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
A Traveller between life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.
Summary of She Was a Phantom of Delight
- Popularity of “She Was a Phantom of Delight”: Written in 1803 and then published after a hiatus of four years, this beautiful poem “She Was a Phantom of Delight” by William Wordsworth presents his wife in an “angelic light.” The main idea is not the conjugal life of the poet as the readers think, but the persona of his wife painted in transparent and heavenly colors and images. The popularity of the poem lies in the description of familial relations.
- “She Was a Phantom of Delight” As a Representative of Conjugal Love: The poet presents his wife as a “Phantom” without naming her in the poem, saying that she has not only been a “lovely Apparition” but also a star of the home. The poet feels delighted over her arrival and beauty, having “dusky hair” and “dancing shape.” It seems to him that she is not a terrestrial creature and does not seem to be a woman, yet she is a woman wrapped in a spiritual aura. He goes on to paint a beautiful picture of her human body with heavenly robes.
He states that she goes from one place to other in his house like a walking shadow, while as a human being, she has endurance, foresight, strength, and skills. In fact, she is a “perfect woman” who does everything in a perfectly planned manner in a way that she seems to have some “angelic light” in her. The poet rather feels enthralled with the beauty and aura of his wife. - Major Themes in “She Was a Phantom of Delight”: Conjugal love, beauty, and charm of the wife are some major thematic strands of this poem. Although the poet does not admit that she is his wife or does not name her, his description shows that his conjugal love is at its peak. The poet seems enthralled by his wife’s beauty that he calls her a spirit surpassing in the beauty that lies beyond human vices such as blame, wiles, and sorrows. Yet, she works like a machine though she has almost all the human qualities in her that make her a perfect woman. The poet is so much allured to her charm that he calls her a spirit, an apparition, a perfect woman, and even an “angelic light”. Although it seems that she is a perfect woman, the main charm of her beauty lies in her short stay, which is just between life and death as a traveler. The poet feels this short stay as her transience, the main charm of her personality.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in She Was a Phantom of Delight
William Wordsworth’s beautiful skill lies in themes as well as literary devices. Some of the literary devices given below show this skill.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “When first she gleamed upon my sight” and the sound of /o/ in “Her household motions light and free.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /b/ in “a Being breathing.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “To warn, to comfort, and command” and the sound of /s/ in “For transient sorrows, simple wiles.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Wordsworth has used imagery in this poem such as “She was a phantom of delight”, “Her eyes as starts of Twilight fair” and “A dancing shape, an Image gay.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. Wordsworth used several metaphors, such as;
- She was a Phantom of delight
- A lovely Apparition
- A dancing shape
- A Spirit
- A being breathing
- Similes: It means to directly compare things to make one thing clear to the readers. The poet has used similes such as “Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as stars, ornament, twilight, image, and shape to paint the picture of his wife.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “She Was a Phantom of Delight”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows beautiful, poetic, and connotative diction.
- Ballad: It is a poem having quatrains or couplets with perfect end rhyme and is intended to use for singing. This poem is a ballad written in couplets.
- Couplet: The poem shows the use of heroic couplet with a complete AA rhyme scheme, such as delight/sight and sent/ornament.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. William Wordsworth used end rhyme in this poem, such as “delight/sight, sent/ornament, and fair/hair.”
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an AABB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: It is the form of poetry having some verses. This poem has four stanzas, the first having 10 verses and the second and last having eight verses with a couplet between them.
- Tone: It means the voice of the poetic text. The poem shows a romantic and nostalgic tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote for a noble woman.
A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.