In Sonnet on seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress, by William Wordsworth, the vivid imagery of the heart and its functions are send oxygen throughout the body. The oxygenated blood travels through the body allowing for proper function.

When Wordsworth says, “Life’s purple tide began to flow,” it seems like there is a new beginning. When created, we each develop our own perceptions on life around us, which cause us to have a reaction. This is like what the function of blood does in the body. It is supplying us with just enough; it is up to us to keep it going. In life, we encounter many obstacles and at times, we stop to think and reflect on how our choices will affect us. Miss Helen is at a point in her life where she is full of uncertainty and heartache. She experiences pleasure in the orgasms yet is still weeping. Yet a heart symbolizes love and happiness? Wordsworth is creating metaphorical imagery based on what one believes to be true in regards to symbolism. He twists the meanings to show that as humans we also hurt yet we keep going.

This imagery can also be compared to religious aspects when Jesus was on the cross. He was suffering from the pain and “Life’s purple tide began to flow.” Jesus did not want to see others suffering. He showed others that even in pain, what he wanted others to see was the love he wanted to share. Miss Helen is showing times of desolation in her life due to what she has been experiencing. Yet I think what Wordsworth is really trying to convey is the heart has many faces, with many emotions, which in turn have us react by our stance on a given situation. The aspect of being able to feel is what allows us to see that the heart is a stimulus and is there to react and allow us to act upon it. Love is acted upon and with Wordsworth; the pain Helen is encountering is rather a gratifying enactment of life.