The poem "Strange Fits of Passion have I known" published by William Wordsworth in 1800 has seven stanzas of four lines each and is composed of the rhyming scheme a-b-a-b. It describes the narrator's trip to Lucy's cottage on horseback and his thoughts along the way. William Wordsworth lived in Europe during the late 18th to mid-19th century, and was a major contributor to the Romantic era. This was a time of an artistic, literacy and intellectual movement originating in Europe. By exploring the passionate and sympathetic tone of the narrator, its image, and the diction, this paper argues that this poem expresses romanticism. .
The tone of a poem is the implied attitude of the narrator towards the subject and characters. In "Strange Fits of Passion have I known" the narrator shows a strong passionate and sympathetic tone relating to the poems romanticism. The first stanza ("STRANGE fits of passion have I known: And I will dare to tell, But in the Lover's ear alone, What once to me befell.") says how the narrator will recite his tale, but only to a lover such as himself. By doing this, Woodworth has put the readers in a sympathetic position since there is now a common feeling and understanding. Being passionate is when something is showing or caused by strong feelings or a strong belief. The first stanza of the poem expresses the poet's strong passion to his beliefs. In it he is essentially saying to the reader that he wants to share his experience, which was the passion of love that he had. He then addresses it to others that are falling in love. By doing this, the poet has put the readers in a passionate state such as himself towards the strong feeling of love.
The image of a poem is a concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea. In this poem, Wordsworth gives the readers a mental image of how beautiful nature can be. The third stanza (Upon the moon I fixed my eye, All over the wide lea; With quickening pace my horse drew nigh Those paths so dear to me.
