Solitude – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Grade 12 English Home Language

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About the Poet: Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was

born in the USA in 1850. She
died in 1919.

She started writing poetry at

a young age and her works
highlight her belief that the
world needs more kindness
and compassion.

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 Historical Context

This poem, much like Wilcox’s other works, contains

her observation about the world around her.

Her interest in spiritualism reflects effectively in this

poem.

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 Background

This poem, much like Wilcox’s other works, contains

her observation about the world around her.

Her interest in spiritualism reflects effectively in this

poem.

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 Summary of the poem
The speaker addresses the reader directly. She states certain
universal truths – “laugh, and the world laughs with / Weep,
and you weep alone”.

The poem speaks of the universal human condition in sharing

joys and ‘good times’ but that a person is alone/solitary in
their tough times/sadness.

In the first stanza the speaker states that one must face one’s
problems instead of seeking happiness through others.

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 Structure
This poem follows a strict structure. The three
stanzas consist of 8 lines each and the same rhyming
pattern is used throughout.

The first two stanzas focus on attitude, behaviour

and actions. The last stanza focuses on the end of
one’s life and suggests a particular approach to deal
with this inevitability.

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 Solitude
1. Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

2. Weep, and you weep alone.

3. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, 4. But has trouble enough of its
own.

5. Sing, and the hills will answer;

6. Sigh, it is lost on the air.

7. The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

8. But shrink from voicing care.

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 Solitude
1. Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

2. Weep, and you weep alone.

3. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, 4. But has trouble enough of its
own.

5. Sing, and the hills will answer;

6. Sigh, it is lost on the air.

7. The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

8. But shrink from voicing care.

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 Solitude
9. Rejoice, and men will seek you;

10. Grieve, and they turn and go.

11. They want full measure of all your pleasure,

12. But they do not need your woe.

13. Be glad, and your friends are many;

14. Be sad, and you lose them all.

15. There are none to decline your nectared wine,

16. But alone you must drink life's gall.

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 Solitude
17. Feast, and your halls are crowded;

18. Fast, and the world goes by.

19. Succeed and give, and it helps you live, 20. But no man can help
you die.

21. There is room in the halls of pleasure 22. For a long and lordly
train,

23. But one by one we must all file on

24. Through the narrow aisles of pain.

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 Stanza 1: Lines 1-2
Lines 1-2: Laugh, and the world laughs with you; / Weep, and you weep alone.

World – synecdoche (a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the

whole or vice versa) for people.

The first line tells a reader that if one were to laugh then the world would
laugh with you. Happiness within oneself creates happiness in others.

The second line adds a more complicated dimension to the relationship

between humans and society. Here she describes the opposite emotion, sadness
displayed through weeping. If you were to Weep, you would happen alone.
People do not flock to the side of someone who is upset, human beings are not
attracted to negativity, perhaps for fear it too may be shared.

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 Stanza 1: Lines 3-4
Lines 3-4: For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, /
But has trouble enough of its own.

mirth – laughter caused by happiness.

The poet argues that the earth (which is personified) has so

much trouble and sadness that it has enough of its own.

However, happiness mirth is rare, so the earth must borrow

happiness fromelsewhere. Wilcox implies that sadness is the
natural state of the world.

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 Stanza 1: Lines 5-8
Lines 5-8: 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.

These line convey the same idea as lines 1-4.

If you were to “sing” then the “hills” would “answer.” You

will receive a response from the world or society, and
happiness would be multiplied.

Bound – big, bouncing movements.

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 Stanza 1: Lines 5-8

echoes – are personified as being happy, to bounce or skip in response to happy sounds, In
contrast, if you were to “Sigh”(symbolic of problems) it would be “lost on the air.” The sound
and the emotion dissipate without anyone acknowledging, or certainly repeating it.

shrink – pull back

shrink from voicing care – to avoid expressing sadness; the world will not share your
problems/issues/cares

The first stanza concludes with the two emotions being translated into sounds. The sound
of singing will “bound” like a joyful echo while the sigh will be ignored.

Wilcox implies that people share joy happily but prefer that suffering is not shared.

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 Stanza 2: Lines 9-12

Lines 9-12: 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.

The speaker presents another five statements that outline how the world at large
reacts to positivity and negativity. The first line says that if you rejoice then
others will “seek you” out and want to spend time with you.

full measure – complete/all

She once again presents a contrast, that if you “Grieve” then the same people will
“turn and go.” These people do not want “your woe” but are happy to take on “your
pleasure.”

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 Stanza 2: Lines 9-12

Lines 9-12: 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.

The speaker gives the reader some advice in the next lines that if you want to have friends,
then you need to be “glad.” If you are not, then you are going to “lose them all.”

life’s gall – sadness, poverty, loneliness – all things that make us bitter.

In the last two lines of this stanza, happiness is compared to “nectared wine” and sadness is
compared to “life’s gall”.

The poet uses this extended metaphor to explain how everyone wants to share as much of a
person’s happiness as possible (a “full measure” of “nectared wine”) but they will be forced to
experience their sadness (“life’s gall”) alone.

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 Stanza 3: Lines 17-18

Lines 17-18: Feast, and your halls are crowded; / Fast, and the world goes by.

The speaker presents her final set of comparisons between a happy life and a sad one and the reactions
they provoke.

She uses another comparison: a feast (celebration) can bring people together.

halls are crowded – emphasises that everyone will join in the celebrations.

Fast – fasting is private. People may not be aware that you are fasting, therefore the whole world would
not take notice or join you.

These two examples are metaphors for everyday life. Welcoming community, companionship, and
happiness are going to inspire even more of the same. The poet argues that if you do not participate in
life and happiness (if you “fast”), people will ignore you, they will not want to spend time with you.
(“Fast, and the world goes by”).

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 Stanza 3: Lines 19-20

Lines 19-20: Succeed and give, and it helps you live, / But no man can help you die.

The speaker refers to life and death and the way that humans deal with pain.

If you are successful and give generously to others (not only material goods, but
also if you give of yourself emotionally), you will live a good life (“it helps you
live”).

no man – nobody. The poet says that literally, we all go through the process of
death alone, but also implies that withdrawing from others is a metaphorical death
and one that we always go through alone.

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 Stanza 3: Lines 21-24

Lines 21-24: There is room in the halls of pleasure / For a long and lordly train, / But
one by one we must all file on / Through the narrow aisles of pain.

the halls of pleasure – metaphorically, the spaces in your life that are filled with joy
and happiness.

a large and lordly train – the procession of people that follow an aristocrat or royalty.

Happiness is metaphorically compared to a house with big rooms (“roomy halls”) that
can hold many guests (“a large and lordly train”), where people enjoy having parties
(“halls of pleasure”) while pain is compared to a “narrow aisle” which implies a corridor
that people have to move through alone.

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 Stanza 3: Lines 21-24

In these lines, the poet says that happy people attract others and have large and loyal
groups of followers. This contrasts with the next two lines.

file on – walk into a place in a line, one behind the other.

aisles – a narrow passage between rows of seats.

The poet describes pain as a “narrow” aisle. This metaphor implies that people can only
survive pain on their own. Others can only watch them, but cannot experience their pain
with them. we must all – implies that everyone will suffer pain, and that the journey
through pain is ultimately one that everyone will have to make on their own.

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 Themes

Happiness/Pain

throughout the poem the speaker states that one must

face one’s problems head-on and not seek comfort in
others in lieu of addressing one’s problems/issues. She
states that we cannot run from our problems forever.

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 Themes

Individual vs Outside World

the relationship between these two concepts is clear in this poem. This poem acts as a ‘map’ to the
individual and how to create your own happiness and face the realities of the world.

Wilcox makes it clear that she believes that all people exist in a state of solitude. Life needs to be tackled
with practicality and self-reliance.

This poem is about how people respond to the emotional state of others: happy people tend to attract the
company and friendship of many others; sad people tend to become isolated and lonely because people
tend to shy away from negative emotions.

In the final stanza, the poet explains how everyone must ultimately go through pain and suffering alone -
although others can bear witness, this experience is inevitably a solitary one. The poet is not necessarily
saying that people are selfish - just that a person can observe others’ deepest feelings but cannot actually
experience them.

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 Contrasts

in this poem it is clear that happiness will draw

people to you and sadness will isolate you from
others. Although the poem suggests we must bear our
hardships alone, we should realise that happiness and
grief are part of the human condition, and we must
remain steadfast and resilient in the face of that.

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 Tone

On the whole, the tone is melancholy/sad/depressed.

Although the poet reminds us that happiness is
possible (this is the connotations of words and
phrases like “laugh”, “sing”, “rejoice”, “nectared wine”
and “halls of pleasure”) the poet contrasts these
words and phrases with their opposites (“weep”, “sigh”,
“be sad”, “life’s gall” and “narrow aisles of pain”.

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 Poetic Devices

The SYNECDOCHE (‘world’ implying people) is sustained throughout the poem.

Extensive use of PERSONIIFCATION gives the poem a personal and intimate feel.
“Sing, and the hills will answer”.

The poem is built on OPPOSITES – “laugh and weep”, “rejoice and grieve”,
“pleasure and woe”, “feast and fast”.

This emphasises her message.

The regular rhythm in the poem creates necessary and dramatic pauses in the
reading of the poem.

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