‘Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known’ is the first of the Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth that was published in the poetic collection “Lyrical Ballads, with a few other Poems” in 1798. The collection also contained poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads is the beginning of the Romantic movement in English literature.
The Lucy Poems are a series of five poems by Wordsworth that he wrote between 1798 and 1801. The other four poems of the series include "She dwelt among the untrodden ways", "I travelled among unknown men", "Three years she grew in sun and shower", and "A slumber did my spirit seal". Four poems of the series (except “I traveled among unknown men”) were published in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800.
The “Lucy Poems” convey the unrequited love of the speaker for a woman named Lucy. Wordsworth never revealed the identity of Lucy. She is only mentioned and never appears as a speaker. Wordsworth portrays her as a young maiden who lived an unremarkable and isolated life near the River Dove in the English Midlands. She carries a quiet grace, but might well be seen frolicking with glee. Although blessed with beauty, she never had many suitors due to the distance she kept between herself and others. She died young, and though her passing went unnoticed and unremarked by many, it forever and profoundly changed the life of the speaker-one who loved her from afar. Wordsworth did not intend to present them as a group or in a particular sequence. However, in 1831, literary critic Thomas Powell recognized the works as a collection unified by a common theme. Wordsworth had lost his brother and father and he was worried about his sister. It is believed that Lucy represents his sister, or she could simply be his poetic muse.
In the poem ‘Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known’ the poet discusses the strange thoughts which he suffered once. The poet was traveling on his horse to meet his beautiful beloved Lucy on a moonlit night. As he continued to look at the moon all the way, the moon was gradually sinking. When he came nearer to Lucy’s cottage, the moon suddenly dropped behind the cottage and it brought to his mind the fearful thought of Lucy’s death.
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