"Surprised by Joy -- Impatient as the Wind"

I'm afraid this is a sad poem.  Wordsworth wrote it after the death of his three-year-old daughter, Catherine.

"Surprised by Joy -- Impatient as the Wind"

by William Wordsworth

Surprised by joy—impatient as the Wind 

I turned to share the transport—Oh! with whom 

But Thee, long buried in the silent Tomb, 

That spot which no vicissitude can find? 

Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind— 

But how could I forget thee?—Through what power, 

Even for the least division of an hour, 

Have I been so beguiled as to be blind 

To my most grievous loss!—That thought’s return 

Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore, 

Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn, 

Knowing my heart’s best treasure was no more; 

That neither present time, nor years unborn 

Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.

Discussion Questions:

1.  What poetic devices do you notice here?

2.  What specific words does Wordsworth use to evoke his sorrow?

3.  C. S. Lewis took the title for his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, from this poem.  If you were going to write your autobiography and take the title for it from a poem or song, what do you think would be a good title for you?  (I would call mine This Flying Steed Unreined, which is from the novel-in-poetry-form Paradise Lost by Milton.)