She Was a Phantom of Delight

The poet has one central aim in this poem: to sing the praises of a particular woman and to show how he has perceived her at three different times over an extended period. Although Wordsworth does not state it explicitly, he wrote “Phantom” about his wife, Mary. “Phantom” was composed in 1804, two years after William and Mary’s wedding, and covers a period of seventeen years of their relationship (though again, this is not stated directly). Across three stanzas, Wordsworth describes how the unnamed woman developed over time through his eyes.

The first stanza describes the effect Mary had on Wordsworth when the two first met in 1787, when Mary was seventeen years old. (Incidentally, Wordsworth and Mary were almost the same age—Wordsworth was the elder by just four months.) She had an ethereal quality; she seemed to belong more to the spiritual than the earthly realm. The words “Phantom” (Line 1) and “Apparition” (Line 3) suggest this spiritual dimension. In modern usage, both words often convey something eerie or strange, but that is not Wordsworth’s intention here. He qualifies his ghostly nouns with positive adjectives—"delight” (Line 1) and “lovely” (Line 3)—to convey the extraordinary something in his visual perception of the woman that captured his attention.

Wordsworth is also careful to follow his description of the woman’s ethereal qualities with images drawn from the nature; this emphasizes that the woman is also firmly of this world. Once again, he offers visual images: her eyes were like “stars” (Line 5) viewed in the twilight. Her dark hair, too, suggested twilight, while other aspects of her appearance evoked sunrise and the month of May (“From May-time and the cheerful Dawn,” Line 8). This easy combination of etherealness and naturalness make for a compelling young woman. Her attractive, graceful form and the gaiety she expressed made her a constant source of delight for the speaker. The last line of Stanza 1 details her ability to “haunt, to startle, and way-lay,” leaving little doubt about the deep impression she made on him.

In Stanza 2, an unspecified amount of time has elapsed. The poet had become better acquainted with the woman during the intervening period; he has observed and interacted with her more closely. The first two lines emphasize that, while retaining her spiritual quality, she also grew into “a Woman too!” (Line 12). In Line 13, it seems the poet became close enough to the woman to observe her around the house; there, he appreciated her gracefulness and her confidence. Her “steps of virgin-liberty” (Line 14) refer not only to her sexual innocence, but to the way she carried herself with the unencumbered freedom of youth.

The second part of the stanza emphasizes how the girl of the first stanza grew to womanhood. Spiritual qualities aside, she was not like an angel, hovering above and outside of the human condition. She fully shared the common lot of humanity, experiencing moments of sorrow and distress as well as happiness, and she was not beyond showing a certain harmless guile (“simple wiles,” Line 19)—perhaps referring to an ability to use her wits when the situation demanded it rather than acting in a naïve manner.

In the third stanza, the speaker calmly observes the woman as she is now. He emphasizes her current steadiness and stability over the more emotional nature suggested in Stanza 2. He knows what makes her tick now (“the very pulse of the machine,” Line 22). She is a “thoughtful” (Line 23) woman as she makes her way through life. In this stanza, the poet emphasizes her enduring inner qualities rather than her physical beauty or emotional makeup. She is sensible, well-balanced (“reason firm,” Line 25), and not too strong-willed. Indeed, she is “Perfect,” the poet states in Line 27, superbly equipped to fulfill important roles for women in Wordsworth’s day: being a guardian, perhaps to children (“To warn,” Line 28), being a “comfort” to her husband or family (Line 28); and being able to “command” (Line 28), suggesting her ability to manage a household. In the final two lines, the poet emphasizes that, in addition to all these admirably practical qualities, the woman retains her spiritual aspect. She embodies a brightness of being that suggests “angelic light” (Line 30).

Given the poem’s autobiographical basis, Wordsworth not only describes an ideal wife in the abstract: he describes his own wife, Mary, to whom he had been married for about two years when he wrote “Phantom.” The poem traces their relationship from early attraction in the distant past—conveyed through flitting, visual imagery—to their present-day, mature love, a love rooted in Wordsworth’s knowledge of Mary’s deeper, more abstract qualities.