“Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Presentation by Tim Peterson

Background Information

Ella was a well known poet in her state by the time she finished high school. After she married Robert Wilcox in 1884, she began believing in theosophy, new thought, and spiritualism. When her husband died, Wilcox was depressed because he had promised her he would contact her after death. She talked to Max Heindel who told her that Robert would only contact Ella after she learned to control her sorrow. In the following years Wilcox wrote works full of positive thinking and ideas of spiritualism and theosophical belief.

Literary Achievements/StyleElla Wheeler Wilcox was having her poems published and was a well known poet by the time she graduated high school. Wilcox was a popular poet rather than a literary one. In most of her poems she expresses cheer and optimism in simple rhyming verse. Ella's work is often referred to as "bad" due to her lack of literary elements expressed in her poetry. Although she did not have a good reputation among critics,

Ella was loved by the American people.

Organization/StructureLaugh, and the world laughs with you;     Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,     But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer;     Sigh, it is lost on the air; The echoes bound to a joyful sound,     But shrink from voicing care.  Rejoice, and men will seek you;     Grieve, and they turn and go; They want full measure of all your pleasure,     But they do not need your woe. Be glad, and your friends are many;     Be sad, and you lose them all,— There are none to decline your nectared wine,     But alone you must drink life’s gall.  Feast, and your halls are crowded;     Fast, and the world goes by. Succeed and give, and it helps you live,     But no man can help you die. There is room in the halls of pleasure     For a large and lordly train, But one by one we must all file on     Through the narrow aisles of pain.

ABCBDEFE

GHIHJKLK

MNONPQRQ

End Rhyme – Every second and forth line rhyme. Wilcoxuses the rhymes to add emphasis on the linesthat talk about loneliness and solitude.

3 Stanzas24 Lines8 Lines Per Stanza

Ella Wheeler Wilcox uses three stanzas to separate different ideas of being depressed and alone.

Stanza 1

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

   Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

    But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;

    Sigh, it is lost on the air;

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

    But shrink from voicing care.

Mirth- joy, happiness

Personification- The world cannot literally laugh, experience emotions, borrow its mirth, or have trouble. The purpose is to show that the world is not always a happy place.

Personification- Hills cannot answer and echoes can’t bound. Ella Wheeler Wilcox uses personification to show that if you are happy, you will not be alone.

Stanza 2

Rejoice, and men will seek you;

    Grieve, and they turn and go;

They want full measure of all your pleasure,

   But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;

    Be sad, and you lose them all,—

There are none to decline your nectared wine,

    But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Nectared- Sweet

Gall- bitterness

Implied Metaphor- Comparing sweet wine to optimism. Ella uses this phrase to show that people will accept your ideas if you look at the better side of situations.

Implied Metaphor- Comparing life's gall to pessimism. Wilcox is showing that if you think negatively of a situation, you will have to face it alone.

Stanza 3

Feast, and your halls are crowded;

    Fast, and the world goes by.

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

    But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure

    For a large and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

    Through the narrow aisles of pain.

Imagery- Wilcox is showing that there is a lot of room for happiness in life by saying that a large and lordly train can fit into the halls of pleasure.

Metaphor- Comparing the feeling of pleasure to halls. Ella is displaying that many people can be joyful at the same time. This connects to halls because they hold many people at a time, often for parties or meetings.

Imagery- Ella Wheeler Wilcox is describing pain as a narrow isle which are hard to get through. Therefore, pain is difficult to overcome.

Metaphor- Comparing pain to narrow aisles. Wilcox is using this comparison to explain how pain is a difficult and strenuous obstacle that we all must conquer.

Imagery

"...through the narrow aisles of pain.""There is room in the halls of

pleasure..."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox does not use much imagery in the poem, although she does convey emotions equally as strongly through the use of her vocabulary and expressions.

Meaning

The literal meaning of the poem "Solitude" is about the speaker and how they see the world. Some people are happy and have many people close to them while others are sad and do not have anyone around to help them.

Purpose and Theme

Wilcox's purpose for writing the poem "Solitude" is to inform the reader that they are not alone in the world and everyone goes through pain. She clearly is telling the audience that if you are happy, you will have a lot of friends, but if you are sad, you will have none.

The theme of the poem is, stay positive and you will have many friends.

Works Citeddictionary.reference.com

www.thesaurus.com

www.poetryoutloud.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Wheeler_Wilcox

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ella_Wheeler_Wilcox_with_signature_1908.jpg

http://fc09.deviantart.net/images3/i/2004/136/6/f/alone.jpg

http://www.lyonsfallshistory.org/post.php?pid=23

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncmedia/7073395215/

http://www.oas.org/en/ser/dia/tours/about_t&b.asp

https://kbunge.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/the-epic-battle-frowney-faces-vs-smiley-faces/

http://www.danoah.com/2012/09/the-individual-vs-the-masses.html/large-crowd-of-people