Strange Fits of Passion Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact. ~William Shakespeare, Mid-Summer Night's Dream, 1595, this quote by Shakespeare is a definitive illustration of Wordsworth’s persona in his poem Strange Fits of Passion I have known. In the poem the speaker embarks on a moonlight horse ride to his lover lucy’s cottage; it is during his ride there that the speaker engages in â€Å"lunatic† thoughts imagining lucy being dead when he arrives to see her. The poem is uniquely characterized by the adverse effects of love on a person, as well as how nature has an effect on human emotion; the latter being a staple theme in many of Wordsworth’s literary pieces. In the first stanza the speaker begins to vocalize the thought he had experienced while travelling to his lover’s cottage. 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. The speaker describes his sudden outburst of emotion as â€Å"strange† as he is keenly aware that his thoughts of lucy being dead are peculiar. It is common that when in love a person may pay heed to their imagination moreso than reality ; The line â€Å"But in the Lover’s ear aloneâ€Å"(Line three) is the speaker saying that he will share his â€Å"strange† thoughts but only to those who, like him, are in the throes of passion for they would understand the affects love can have on a person Wordsworth is known for his references to nature in many of his poems , the second stanza in this poem doesn’t stray from that commonality. When she I loved looked every day Fresh as a rose in June, I to her cottage bent my way, ... ...n his chest. The final stanza at last reveals the speaker’s thoughts that have been accumulating throughout the poem. What fond and wayward thoughts will slide Into a Lover’s head! â€Å"O mercy!† to myself I cried, â€Å"If Lucy should be dead!† Appalled at this final revelation it is apparent that the speaker has experienced similar thoughts and that sometimes despite great efforts your imagination can steer your thoughts to the contrary of rational thinking â€Å"What fond and wayward thoughts will slide ( Line 25) Into a Lover’s head! â€Å"(Line 26). Strange fits of passion is another poem by Wordsworth that uses nature as a medium when conveying human emotion but provides a unique portrayal of the absurdities of emotional experience that can evolve from passionate love.