Analysis of the poem “she was a phantom of delight”

1. Literature Presentation:
“She was a Phantom of
Delight”
Salvador Castagnino and Agustin Bravo

2. Writer's Background
This poem, was written by William Wordsworth. Born: 7 April 1770 – Died:23 April 1850
● He was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria, England.
● Really important for the Romanticism period.
● Credited with ushering in the English Romantic Movement with the publication of
Lyrical Ballads(1798) in collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
● He was married to Mary Hutchinson
● Wordsworth’s mother died when he was eight and his father later died too,
leaving him and his four siblings orphans.
● His uncles took care of him.
● Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787. He made 2 verse collections, and visited France plenty of
times, as he found it a place where he could get inspired.
● In later life Wordsworth abandoned his radical ideas and became a patriotic, conservative public man. In 1843
he succeeded Robert Southey (1774-1843) as England's poet laureate.

3. The Poem: Stanza 1
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 waylay.

4. Vocabulary First stanza
delight: pleasure, joy
gleamed: gleamed
ornament: Decorative, for decoration
fair: pale, blond
dusky: Dark, dim
Dawn: Early morning, beginning of day.
Gay: bright, showy, or attractive
haunt: by ghost, to appear, follow or enchant.
startle: surprise, alarm.
way-lay: to await and then rush up to greet, confront, solicit.

5. Stanza 2
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.
Analysis:
In Stanza 2, the poet describes a woman he
likes very much and expresses his feelings
towards her. He is close to her because he is
able to watch her at a near view and knows her
well. She could be his wife or lover as he
relates her with the household chores, but also
she arises feelings in him. In our opinion he
shares a special relation with her.
He thinks she is a good housewife and he
describes her doing the household chores. He
thinks she is not perfect as he describes her
as an ordinary woman: “a Creature not too
bright or good”.

6. Vocabulary Second stanza
household: housework that must be done to keep the house in order.
countenance: appearance, specially the expression of the face.
transient sorrows: not lasting grief or afflictions
wiles: trick intended to deceive
praise: expression of approval, commendation or admiration.

7. Stanza 3
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.
Analysis:
In this Stanza the voice enhances his opinion about the
woman. She now becomes a perfect woman instead of an
ordinary one. The poet describes many positive aspects of
her personality such as strength, skill, endurance, among
others. Thus, he describes her as “The very pulse of the
machine”. She becomes a perfect woman able to guide him.
On the other side, the voice also describes her as a bright
Spirit with angelic light.

8. Vocabulary Third stanza
serene: calm or peaceful
pulse: regular or rhythmical beating.
temperate: moderate, not extreme in opinion.
foresight: the act or power of foreseeing.
warn: the act of advising or intim
ideating.

9. Literary Analysis
The Rhyme structure is the following: aa, bb, cc, dd, ee.
There are 3 Stanzas in the poem and each one has ten lines.
Metaphors: The author uses lots of metaphors to describe the woman, because it gives
more strength and clarity to the description: “The very pulse of a machine”, “Her eyes as
stars of Twilight fair”, “She was a phantom of delight”.
Tone: The tone of the poem is curiosity and wonder. In the poem we can find that the
voice is talking about someone who we don’t know who she is and if she is alive or not.
Theme: The theme of the poem is love and admiration. The poem is about a man who
describes a perfect woman and how he loves her and admires her.

10. The Title
In our opinion, the title “She was a phantom of delight”, clearly refers to a woman. After
analysing the poem, we could understand that it refers to the perfection of a woman, who
was close to the writer. A woman who probably is dead now, as she is a “Phantom”, but
she was someone who caused pleasure, joy, delight, that is why she was a “Phantom of
Delight”.

11. Conclusion
Our conclusion about the poem, is that it describes a woman, who is important and
perfect for the writer. They seem to have a strong relationship, and he seems to know her
really well. They are probably a couple, and love each other, but some of the words used,
give her ghostly qualities, what makes us think that she is probably dead, but her
perfection is eternal, and maybe she is now a phantom, a “Phantom of Delight”.

12. Final Analysis
In this poem Wordsworth portrays his wife, Mary Hutchinson. He describes her first as an ideally beautiful woman,
then a pleasant companion and a housewife and finally as an intellectual and moral being who is capable of guiding
him. Beginning with a distant view that offers an illusion, he closes up to a more realistic and spiritual view of his
wife. In the first stanza she is described as a phantom, which is an illusion. Her eyes are compared to the evening
stars, which are impossible to obtain. Similarly her hair is also described as dark as the dusk. It highlights her
mysterious quality. Then the poet idealizes her. In order to create her beauty the creator collected all things “From
May time and the cheerful dawn”. Like a phantom she haunts, startles and waylays the poet. After their marriage, the
poet gets a nearer view of her. He finds her to be a good housewife. She works hard and satisfies her husband. She is
not an extraordinary person. She possesses all the human qualities, but not to an extreme degree. Finally, she proves
herself to be a perfect woman. She is said to be a machine because the several aspects of her personality (The reason
firm, the temperate will, endurance, foresight, strength, and skill) work together efficiently. Because of these
qualities she is capable of guiding the poet.
Source: http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/she-was-a-phantom-of-delight.html#.
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