The depth of William Wordsworth's 'Surprized by joy – impatient as the wind' can hopefully be at least partially unraveled through some background knowledge. Written in 1813-4, it is likely written for his daughter Catherine who died in June 1813. Just as Wordsworth began to come to terms with her death, he lost his son Thomas in December of the same year – and feels guilty of causing it because he had moved on. The methods Wordsworth uses range from varied punctuation use, rhyme style, pronoun use and darkening tone to the more fundamental poetic techniques such as similes and particularly effective opening and closing lines. The effects of these tools can be explained one by one and the collective meaning viewed as almost crushing his faith by punishing him, so tragically, twice.
             Several dashes are used to illustrate Wordsworth's mixed feelings. Dashes separate happy situations from their sad counterparts; for instance, Wordsworth remembers the joyful surprise of Catherine's birth but also how her life was as fleeting "as the wind". His faithful love for Catherine (and Thomas' untimely death) also makes him recollect memories but again a dividing dash leads to his guilt about ever getting over her death. These dashes also seem to have a second function: as caesurae. These mid-sentence breaks give a conversational feel to the piece, as if he is telling it to her in speech. They also avoid using a full-stop, as if he is afraid to halt and forget any of thoughts.
             A pair of question marks creates a mood of disillusionment, confusion and/or disbelief. Wordsworth asks if death is eternal and unchanging as well as what power could allow him to forget her – even for a moment. This shows that Wordsworth could be doubting religion for allowing these events to unfold; indeed, it seems he blames religion as the 'power' which beguiles the loss of his daughter...