“The first thing that one notices about the poem is its title, “Mad Song”. There are seven other poems in Poetical Sketches entitled “Song”, but this poem stands out because it is the “mad” song. The reader then wonders: is the poem about madness, written by a madman or both? To begin with, the first line of the poem, “the wild winds weep,” connotes a sad wind which cries. It does not seem violent as would the howling wind of a storm, nor is it playful like a gentle breeze. The wind is mournfully crying with sadness even though it is “wild” which usually connotes a joyful freedom.”