I turned to share the transport--Oh! with whom (b)

But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb, (b )

That spot which no vicissitude can find?( a)

Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind- (a )

But how could I forget thee? Through what power, (c )

Even for the least division of an hour, (c )

Have I been so beguiled as to be blind (a)

To my most grievous loss?--That thought's return (d)

Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore, (e )

Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn, (d)

Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more; (e )

That neither present time, nor years unborn (d )

Could to my sight that heavenly face restore. (e )

(Wordsworth 298).

Wordsworth claimed the sonnet "Surprised by Joy" was written "by my daughter Catherine, long after her death" (qtd. in Peacock 375). Catherine, who died in 1812 at the age of three. The sonnet, "Surprised by Joy", was included in Wordsworth'

Wordsworth, William "Surprised by Joy". The Norton Anthology of British Literature Abrams et al. Seventh Edition Volume II. New York . Norton 2000.

The sonnet opens with a deep inner joy but one that demands sharing with one another, the speaker turns to "share the transport" (Wordsworth 298)."Surprised by joy - impatient as the wind" (298) shows a shift in feelings. Quickly, the speaker is aware of a tremendous loss and of the mortality of the world beyond.

Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, which is now in Cumbria. His mother died in 1778, and his father died in 1783. Relatives provided for his education. Wordsworth entered Cambridge University in 1787, the year he wrote his first significant poem. During a summer vacation in 1790, he visited France, then in turmoil because of the French Revolution. After graduating from Cambridge, in 1791, he returned to France and became a supporter of the revolution. He returned to England in December 1792.

Mahoney, John L

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Approximate Word count = 658
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)