Solitude

Solitude

By: Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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.

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.

The second poem I chose to do for the Poetry Out Loud is Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. This poem is a very intense poem. It does a ton of juxtaposing. The structure is essentially a very elegant compare and contrast. One line talks about being happy, and how people will flock to you. The following line then directly contradicts it’s predecessor, and discusses how the world will almost ignore you if you are sad and alone. This structure is essential to the point Wilcox is attempting to make. She wants to convey that society and the world will shun you if you are not happy, outgoing, successful, and generous: people take advantage of you when you are successful, but avoid you when you’re not. The structure of Solitude contributes to this because it directly compares for example, how one is treated when they laugh as opposed to when they cry.

Another reason why I took a liking to Solitude is it reminds of my cottage on the shore of Lake Superior. More specifically, the line “But no man can help you die” is what made me think of my refuge in the UP because this implies you have to do things on your own. When I am up north, I am by myself—it is just nature and my own thoughts. I love the time I get to be there up there alone: I get to reflect, recharge, and escape the people I don’t care to see on a regular basis. It is truly amazing. This excerpt also means that no matter the great pile of friends you have, nobody can help you die. It is something you must do yourself. Just you. Solitude. Wilcox also intends to mean only YOU can help yourself, only YOU can determine YOUR happiness, only YOU can live YOUR life. You cannot depend on others to do things for you. This notion is what made me envision the time I am able to spend in the north country, and why I love the poem, Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.