In the poem, " She was a Phantom of Delight", William Wordsworth uses literary devices such as extended metaphor and capitalization to bring his poetry to life. The poem consists of three stanzas that follow the speaker's thoughts through getting to know the woman. Through examination of the poem's structure, the reader gains greater insight into the meaning of the piece.

In the first stanza, the narrator examines the woman from a distance. Wordsworth use more capitalization here than the other two stanzas, emphasizing the surreal quality the narrator first experiences. He likens her to a "Phantom" and "Apparition". Both words give the feeling that this woman is a spirit or angel. He further describes her with nature imagery. She has hair and eyes the color of "Twilight", yet everything else about her stems from the "Dawn" and "May-time". This also shows a contrast between light and dark. The meaning of the contrasting of these colors is further developed in later stanzas. This stanza serves to set the stage for a closer look at this surreal image.

Stanza two has a more restricted use of capitalization, making the image more human and less supernatural. Here the narrator takes a closer look at the physical appearance of the woman. He sees in her gestures that she is not above the daily cares of mortals. She cries, smiles, feels pain, and joy. She shines good, but not so bright as to be so far above him. The speaker sees that the outward appearance of the spirit is that of a woman. This brings more meaning to the first stanza's use of light and dark. The dark represents her human qualities and passions, while the light represents the innocence that makes her seem angelic. Next Wordsworth takes a closer look at her personality.

The speaker declares the spirit to be, "A perfect Woman", in the last stanza. Wordsworth focuses on developing the woman's personality completing the picture the poem is creating. He sees her as she truly is- a thoughtful, strong woman. The last point made in the stanza is that she is mortal, yet still shines with an, "angelic light". This ties the end of the poem back in with the initial view in the first stanza, that this is a being above mortals, again contrasting the light and dark imagery.

The surreal qualities given to the woman in the poem could be viewed as innocence and serenity in equilibrium with passions that drive humans. The speaker finds the woman's strength while maintaining an aura of innocence attractive and ideal. This is the continuing theme, emphasized by the use of capitalization. Wordsworth's use of literary devices develops vivid imagery, and as the poem goes through the same phases people do when getting to know each other, it makes the imagery something readers in all time periods relate to.