"Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known"
Strange fits of passion have I known:And I will dare to tell,But in the Lover's ear alone,What once to me befel.
When she I loved looked every dayFresh as a rose in June,I to her cottage bent my way,Beneath an evening moon.
Upon the moon I fixed my eye,All over the wide lea;With quickening pace my horse drew nighThose paths so dear to me.
And now we reached the orchard-plot;And, as we climbed the hill,The sinking moon to Lucy's cotCame near, and nearer still.
In one of those sweet dreams I slept,Kind Nature's gentlest boon!And all the while my eyes I keptOn the descending moon.
My horse moved on; hoof after hoofHe raised, and never stopped:When down behind the cottage roof,At once, the bright moon dropped.
What fond and wayward thoughts will slideInto a Lover's head!"O mercy!" to myself I cried,"If Lucy should be dead!"
Words in this poem
- quickening n.
- The act or process of making or of becoming quick.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 2 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12145; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, "Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known", in The Brothers, and Other Poems (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/strange-fits-of-passion-have-i-known.html, id L17295.
Form and metre
"Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known" is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, as Wikipedia: Strange fits of passion have I known has it. 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A-A- knownA · tell · aloneA · befel
- 2 ABAB dayA · juneB · wayA · moonB
- 3 ABAB eyeA · leaB · nighA · meB
- 4 ABAB plotA · hillB · cotA · stillB
- 5 ABAB sleptA · boonB · keptA · moonB
- 6 ABAB hoofA · stoppedB · roofA · droppedB
- 7 ABAB slideA · headB · criedA · deadB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Strange fits of passion have I known: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And I will dare to tell, | 6 | ······ |
| But in the Lover's ear alone, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| What once to me befel. | 6 | ······ |
| When she I loved looked every day | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fresh as a rose in June, | 6 | ······ |
| I to her cottage bent my way, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Beneath an evening moon. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Upon the moon I fixed my eye, | 8 | ········ |
| All over the wide lea; | 6 | ······ |
| With quickening pace my horse drew nigh | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Those paths so dear to me. | 6 | ······ |
| And now we reached the orchard-plot; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, as we climbed the hill, | 6 | ······ |
| The sinking moon to Lucy's cot | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Came near, and nearer still. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In one of those sweet dreams I slept, | 8 | ········ |
| Kind Nature's gentlest boon! | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| And all the while my eyes I kept | 8 | ········ |
| On the descending moon. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| My horse moved on; hoof after hoof | 8 | ········ |
| He raised, and never stopped: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When down behind the cottage roof, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At once, the bright moon dropped. | 6 | ······ |
| What fond and wayward thoughts will slide | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Into a Lover's head! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "O mercy!" to myself I cried, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| "If Lucy should be dead!" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
On this poem
Written in Germany, 1799.
Notes from the edition 6
William Knight's notes to The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Volume 2 (1896; Project Gutenberg #12145): Wordsworth's own Isabella Fenwick notes and Knight's headnotes on composition and publication, plus his lettered footnotes (restarting at A for every poem).
- Stanza 1, line 1 1832. ... I have known, 1800.
- Stanza 2, line 2 1836. When she I lov'd, was strong and gay And like a rose in June, 1800.
- Stanza 2, line 4 1836. ... the ... 1800.
- Stanza 3, line 3 1836. My horse trudg'd on, and we drew nigh 1800.
- Stanza 4, line 4 1836. Towards the roof of Lucy's cot The moon descended still. [a] 1800.
- Stanza 6, line 4 1815. ... the planet dropp'd. 1800.
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.