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Kayla Moore
Professor Carlton-Ford
ENGB- 2035 English Literature Survey II
2/16/15
Surprised by joy: Haunting Beauty and Unchanging Life
As romantic poems often embody their surroundings in their works, Wordsworth does
this in terms of nature, relationships, and adoration for those closest to him. Especially in the
sonnet Surprised by joy, Wordsworth takes multiple basic romantic ideals and works them into
a beautifully crafted 14 line sonnet, producing a forlorn and commemorative tone; he reviews
the relationship he had with one of the loves lost in his life,. In this depiction of sadness, the
stillness of death, and lack of change, he creates a moment of hollow beauty and moroseness
combined with the general tenets of romantic-era poetic works.
As a man of this literary period, Wordsworth believed in submerging himself in the
landscape, thus making his works laud nature, incorporating multiple natural metaphors into each
piece. This sonnet particularly uses a simile referring to wind. Though this natural imagery is
not specifically as present in this piece, it is still vital to note that it applies to the emotions
exhibited by the speaker, Wordsworth.
Wind is often used in poetic work to indicate an external power uncontrolled by
humanity. Wordsworth exhibits such word play in the phrase impatient as the Wind/ I turned to
share (lines 1-2). This phrase brings the reader not only to understand the excitement which

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the speaker has to share with his treasured love, but also serves as a starting point for the
personification of multiple aspects of life, both physical and emotional.
As wind is personified as a driving force, so is that of Love, faithful love (line 5).
This, one of the most prominent emotions of all human life, is personified as the being which
reminds the speaker of his departed beloved. Being personified so is extremely powerful,
indicating not only that the most devoted love has the power to change a man, but that it also has
the force to physically stop the speaker and remind them to pause and remember what has been
lost. From this point, the speaker recalls the power of his emotion asking the question But how
could I forget thee? (line 6), recalling the power of her presence in his life.
Moving from this recollection, Wordsworth delves into the passing of time. The
specificity of even for the least division of an hour (line 7), conveys the how deeply he adored
the departed and the immense shock they feel at the fact that he even forgotten her for a moment.
The thought that he even forgot her for a second disrupts his thoughts, thus even personifying
times passing in a sense and thus tricking his mind into not noting her departure for even a
moment. Following the address of seconds, Wordsworth also notes the years of loneliness to
come in which his departed can no longer grow and thrive with him. This contrast between
seconds and years of loneliness solidifies the fact that there will be no more change, and that he
will continue to forget about her in times to come.
In the final two lines, Wordsworth notes that neither present time, nor years unborn/
Could to my sight that heavenly face restore (lines 13-14). This notation of time pulls in
moments of present and past, thus covering all periods of time in the speakers grieving process
with the unchanging state of his departed daughter. Noting that she will no longer change and
grow with him, also contrasts with the passage of time and change. Being a young girl, the

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departed still had many unborn years yet to live which are now cut short. This specific marker
of time heavily demonstrates the lack of change.
With the notation of times passing and lack of change comes the turning point of the
sonnet. Moving from the octave to the sestet, readers see that the speaker is evolving from the
hollowness of forgetting to the heavy pain of remembering. The overall ideas of each stanza
are clear; empty excitement transitioning to painful remembrance. This turning point is marked
by the blind[ness]/ To [his] most grievous loss! (lines 8-9). As is clearly evident, the speakers
thoughts are evolving from a lack of emotion to realization.
Noting this evolution in the speakers thoughts is an interesting parallel to the lack of
change in the departed, which then touches upon the juxtaposition of joy and pain throughout the
sonnet. This juxtaposition is evident especially at the beginning when the speaker initially
addresses the joy felt at potentially sharing something with his departed. Such initial joy is then
contrasted with the sorrow and longing to share with her once again, which is subtly addressed
throughout the remainder of the work, especially in mentioning
Pulling into the ideals of emotion and mortality completely embodies two major tenets of
romantic era literature: emotion and human life. Working with these two topics, Wordsworth not
only creates a work of complex layers, but also evokes multiple types of emotion from readers
with which they can sympathize. In working with such intense subject matter, Wordsworth wraps
up various existential thoughts into a sonnet. The structure of which completely aids the impact
of the work, utilizing both end-stopped and enjambed lines to place emphasis on powerful points,
i.e. line 4, and allowing the poem to flow in other larger ideas.

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Alongside of this general structure Wordsworth utilizes a specific rhyme scheme,
ABBAACCADEDEDE. This rhyme scheme doesnt have an extreme effect on the way in which
the work is read, until the final sestet. This sestet is not only demonstrative of a shift from reverie
to realization of a present state, but it is also the most impactful part of the piece. The rhyme
scheme especially aids this part of the work, as it perpetuates the flow of the piece for the reader
and creates a lasting image through rhyme.
The meter of the piece also works to create emphasis in terms of pause. The works meter
pauses when Wordsworth desires to emphasize a point, or transition from one moment to the
next. Most of the work can be identified as iambic pentameter, which creates a steady flow for
the piece but the meter shifts when the octave shifts into the sestet, thus being another signal for
change in mental state of the speaker.
As this work flows from one line to the next, it all ties together to provide interesting
insight into the mind of one who has lost someone dearest to him. Wordsworth crafted this
sonnet with precision, utilizing specific notations of time and rhetorical questions to allow the
reader to postulate his or her own ideas on mortality, but also take the speakers into account.
This sonnet completely embodies the hollow beauty of romantic era works, and fully accounts
for the complex beauty of Wordsworths craft in terms of mortality and emotion.

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