She Was A Phantom Of Delight Analysis

William Wordsworth’s poem, ‘She Was a Phantom of Delight’, tells the story of a woman’s striking beauty as observed by the man who loves her and a man’s personal discovery of what makes a woman truly beautiful. William Wordsworth was a romantic poet; through his experiences he discovered the romantic side of his life which was his wife. Through this poem he has described and emphasized his love and admiration for his wife. The poem dramatizes the conflict between fantasy and reality as it relates to beauty. In my essay I will talk about how he portrays an ideal woman and his gratitude towards his wife, through several literary devices, diction and the structure of the poem.

Mary Hutchinson, his wife, has been portrayed by Wordsworth in the

The words have a strong connotation of the woman being carefree in her nature. “Virgin-liberty” shows us that the woman is still innocent enough and her opinion of the world is different from others, as she doesn’t know anything, she is free of her bounds and can do whatsoever if she wishes for. There are a range of literary devices used to portray the woman in the poem. The title of the poem, which is ‘She was a phantom of delight’ is itself a metaphor. Wordsworth utilizes similes and metaphors throughout the poem. For instance when he compares his wife to twilight, writing “Her eyes as stars of twilight fair, like twilight’s too, her dusky hair”. He uses similes to illustrate the remote qualities of his wife and after a while her existent qualities. Wordsworth uses alliteration for acoustic effect in the poem. For example he repeats the soft “S” consonant writing “For transient sorrows, simple wiles”, perhaps to slow down the speaker and affect the speed of how the poem has been read to create emphasis of the real qualities of his wife. Also the soft “S” sounds reflects the softness of the woman, which is a quality Wordsworth is trying to portray in the