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    She Was A Phantom of Delight

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    Phanthila W. Pao
    William Wordsworth wrote the poem "She was a Phantom of Delight" about his wife, Mary, whom he had loved since childhood. The poem describes the poet's reaction to his wife over time in three chronological stanzas. When he first saw her, she seemed like a lovely apparition, but upon closer inspection he saw she was both a spirit and a woman. As the years passed, she matured into a perfect woman who could warn, comfort and command, with a spirit that was bright like an angel's light. The poem uses rhyme, similes, chronological order and alliteration to portray the poet's love and observation of his wife as she changed through the years.

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    She Was A Phantom of Delight

    Uploaded by

    Phanthila W. Pao
    198 views10 pages
    William Wordsworth wrote the poem "She was a Phantom of Delight" about his wife, Mary, whom he had loved since childhood. The poem describes the poet's reaction to his wife over time in three chronological stanzas. When he first saw her, she seemed like a lovely apparition, but upon closer inspection he saw she was both a spirit and a woman. As the years passed, she matured into a perfect woman who could warn, comfort and command, with a spirit that was bright like an angel's light. The poem uses rhyme, similes, chronological order and alliteration to portray the poet's love and observation of his wife as she changed through the years.

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    She was a Phantom of delight

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    William Wordsworth wrote the poem "She was a Phantom of Delight" about his wife, Mary, whom he had loved since childhood. The poem describes the poet's reaction to his wife over time in three chronological stanzas. When he first saw her, she seemed like a lovely apparition, but upon closer inspection he saw she was both a spirit and a woman. As the years passed, she matured into a perfect woman who could warn, comfort and command, with a spirit that was bright like an angel's light. The poem uses rhyme, similes, chronological order and alliteration to portray the poet's love and observation of his wife as she changed through the years.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    198 views10 pages

    She Was A Phantom of Delight

    Uploaded by

    Phanthila W. Pao
    William Wordsworth wrote the poem "She was a Phantom of Delight" about his wife, Mary, whom he had loved since childhood. The poem describes the poet's reaction to his wife over time in three chronological stanzas. When he first saw her, she seemed like a lovely apparition, but upon closer inspection he saw she was both a spirit and a woman. As the years passed, she matured into a perfect woman who could warn, comfort and command, with a spirit that was bright like an angel's light. The poem uses rhyme, similes, chronological order and alliteration to portray the poet's love and observation of his wife as she changed through the years.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 10

    She was a Phantom of

    delight

    William Wordsworth
    Poem
    SHE was a Phantom of delight
    When first she gleam'd upon my sight;
    A lovely Apparition, sent
    To be a moment's ornament:
    Her eyes as stars of twilight fair; 5
    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 waylay. 10
    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 15
    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. 20
    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, 25
    Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
    A perfect Woman, nobly plann'd
    To warn, to comfort, and command;
    And yet a Spirit still, and bright
    With something of an angel light.
    The Author

    ● William Wordsworth was born in 1770 in UK


    ● He was a Romantic poem and was very famous during the Romantic period (1800-
    1850)
    ● He wrote ‘SHE was a Phantom of Delight’ in 1798
    ● He wrote this poem about his wife, Mary, who was his childhood love.
    Theme
    Love- the poet describes his reaction with his wife. When he met her and after.He tries to
    show his feelings towards her by describing his wife.

    Time- the poem shows the gradual change in time and how things change in those
    moments. First she was a sweet girl, then his wife and after that a perfect Woman. It shows
    how his wife changed as time passed.
    Literary devices
    1.)Rhyme scheme- there is an AABB rhyme scheme in this poem e.g. SHE was a
    Phantom of delight
    When first she gleam'd upon my sight

    2.)Simile- he uses similes to describe his wife’s appearance

    E.g.Her eyes as stars of twilight fair

    3.)Chronological order- there is chronological order between the stanzas. This is shown
    by a phrase in the first stanza that says ‘yet a Woman’ where he means that his lady isn't
    quite grown up, unlike the second stanza where she became a women and his wife.

    4.) Alliteration- The phrase "For transient sorrows, simple wiles” has many soft ‘s’
    sounds.
    Author’s style
    1.)Wordsworth was a romantic poet which includes his poem the ‘ she was a phantom of
    delight’.

    2.)The author writes the the poem in 3 stanzas, with 10 lines each. The first is written in
    past tense which shows the reader that the poet is talking about his past. The first stanza
    also includes the last two lines of the poem. The second stanza is written in past tense also.
    All 3 stanzas as ordered chronologically.

    3.) The poet doesn’t add many poetic devices, which makes the poem simple.
    Symbolism

    1. The phrase ‘may-time’ stands symbolically for the spring which is the beginning of the
    year. It also stands for beauty because it used to be seen as the most beautiful month of
    the year. This relates to the poem because it refers to the beauty of his wife.

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