8.

SOLITUDE BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

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.

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.

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. For there is room in the halls of pleasure
22. For a large and lordly train,
23. But one by one we must all file on
24. Through the narrow aisles of pain.
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. Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote
“Solitude” after she had travelled to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend the Governor's inaugural ball.
On her way there, she sat opposite a young widow, who was dressed in black and crying. The
poet sat with her and tried to comfort her for the rest of the journey. When they arrived at the
ball, the poet was so depressed she could hardly enjoy the party. When she saw her own face
in a mirror, Wilcox remembered the crying woman and wrote this poem, where she thinks about
the world’s response to sadness.
FORM/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.

SUMMARY
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 joy 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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 8. SOLITUDE BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX
Internal rhyme of “bound” and “sound”
TITLE
Juxtaposition- “sing” and “sigh”
Single word title highlights the theme of the poem that we are
These lines convey the same idea as lines 1-4.
all alone. Solitude – being alone. We are lonely on our
If you were to “sing” then the “hills” would “answer.” You will
journey of life.
receive a response from the world or society, and happiness
STANZA 1 LINES 1-2 would be multiplied.
Laugh, and the world laughs with you; / Weep, and Bound – big, bouncing movements.
you weep alone. echoes – are personified as being happy, to bounce or skip in
World – synecdoche (a figure of speech in which a part is response to happy sounds, in contrast, if you were to “Sigh”
made to represent the whole or vice versa) for people. (symbolic of problems) it would be “lost on the air.” “bound”
The first line tells a reader that if one were to laugh then the seems to be a reaction to the “echo”. The sound and the
world would laugh with you. Happiness within oneself creates emotion dissipate without anyone acknowledging, or certainly
happiness in others. repeating it.
The second line adds a more complicated dimension to the shrink – pull back
relationship between humans and society. Here she describes shrink from voicing care – to avoid expressing sympathy -
the opposite emotion, sadness displayed through weeping. the world will not share your problems/issues/cares
People do not flock to the side of someone who is upset, The first stanza concludes with the two emotions being
human beings are not attracted to negativity, perhaps for fear translated into sounds. The sound of singing will “bound” like a
it too may be shared. Juxtaposition “laugh”/ “weep” joyful echo while the sigh will be ignored.
Wilcox implies that people share joy happily but prefer that
LINES 3-4 - For the sad old earth must borrow its suffering is not shared.
mirth, / But has trouble enough of its own.
mirth – laughter caused by happiness. STANZA 2 LINES 9-12 - Rejoice, and men will seek
The poet argues that the earth (which is personified) has so you; / Grieve, and they turn and go. / They want full
much trouble and sadness that it has enough of its own almost measure of all your pleasure, / But they do not need
as if by default the earth is sad. The earth seems so your woe.
consumed with trouble that it is unable to help. It seems as if “They” – exclusive pronoun that does not include the
misery is a frequent occurrence whilst joy is short-lived. speaker/reader. Emphasises how people/world want nothing
However, happiness mirth is rare, so the earth must borrow to do with your suffering.
happiness from elsewhere. Wilcox implies that sadness is the The speaker presents another five statements that outline how
natural state of the world. the world at large reacts to positivity and negativity. The first
Juxtaposition “sad” and “mirth” Internal rhyme is present in line says that if you rejoice then others will “seek you” out and
“earth” and “mirth”. want to spend time with you.
LINES 5-8 - Sing, and the hills will answer; / Sigh, it is full measure – complete/all
She once again presents a contrast, that if you “Grieve” then
lost on the air. / The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
the same people will “turn and go.” These people do not want
/ But shrink from voicing care. “your woe” but are happy to take on “your pleasure.”

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 8. SOLITUDE BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX
LINES 19-20 - Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
LINES 13-16 - Be glad, and your friends are many; / Be
sad, and you lose them all. / There are none to / But no man can help you die.
The speaker refers to life and death and the way that humans
decline your nectared wine, / But alone you must deal with pain.
drink life's gall. If you are successful and give generously to others (not only
NB -Anaphora material goods, but also if you give of yourself emotionally),
Second person pronoun - you you will live a good life (“it helps you live”).
The speaker gives the reader some advice in the next lines no man – nobody. The poet says that literally, we all go
that if you want to have friends, then you need to be “glad.” If through the process of death alone, but also implies that
you are not, then you are going to “lose them all.” withdrawing from others is a metaphorical death and one that
life’s gall – sadness, poverty, loneliness – all things that make we always go through alone. Death is a solitary venture.
us bitter.
In the last two lines of this stanza, happiness is compared to LINES 21-21 - There is room in the halls of pleasure /
“nectared wine” and sadness is compared to “life’s gall”. The For a long and lordly train, / But one by one we must
poet uses this extended metaphor to explain how everyone all file on / Through the narrow aisles of pain.
wants to share as much of a person’s happiness as possible the halls of pleasure – metaphorically, the spaces in your life
(a “full measure” of “nectared wine”) but they will be forced to that are filled with joy and happiness. a large and lordly train –
experience their sadness (“life’s gall”) alone. the procession of people that follow an aristocrat or royalty.
STANZA 3 LINES 17-18 - Feast, and your halls are “But” introduces a change – acceptance of our fate.
“one by one” – emphasises the theme of solitude.
crowded; / Fast, and the world goes by. Happiness is metaphorically compared to a house with big
The speaker presents her final set of comparisons between a
rooms (“roomy halls”) that can hold many guests (“a large and
happy life and a sad one and the reactions they provoke. She
lordly train”), where people enjoy having parties (“halls of
uses another comparison: a feast (celebration) can bring
pleasure”) while pain is compared to a “narrow aisle” which
people together.
implies a corridor that people have to move through alone as it
halls are crowded – emphasises that everyone will join in the
is small and restrictive. There is no one to share your pain/
celebrations.
your path to death.
Fast – fasting is private. People may not be aware that you
In these lines, the poet says that happy people attract others
are fasting, therefore the whole world would not take notice or
and have large and loyal groups of followers. This contrasts
join you.
with the next two lines.
These two examples are metaphors for everyday life.
file on – walk into a place in a line, one behind the other.
Welcoming community, companionship, and happiness are
aisles – a narrow passage between rows of seats.
going to inspire even more of the same. The poet argues that
The poet describes pain as a “narrow” aisle. This metaphor
if you do not participate in life and happiness (if you “fast”),
implies that people can only survive pain on their own. Others
people will ignore you, they will not want to spend time with
can only watch them, but cannot experience their pain with
you. (“Fast, and the world goes by”).
them.

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 8. SOLITUDE BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX
we must all – implies that everyone will suffer and that the the poet contrasts these words and phrases with their
journey through pain is ultimately one that everyone will have opposites (“weep”, “sigh”, “be sad”, “life’s gall” and “narrow
to make on their own. aisles of pain”.
MOOD
THEMES
• Solemn
• Happiness/Pain – throughout the poem the speaker
• Thought-provoking
states that one must face one’s problems head-on and not
seek comfort in others in lieu of addressing one’s QUESTION 1 – ESSAY QUESTION
problems/issues. She states that we cannot run from our The poem essentially declares that while a negative attitude
problems forever. repulses people, a positive one attracts them. In an essay
• Individual vs outside world – the relationship between describe how the speaker reinforces the above message in the
these two concepts is clear in this poem. This poem acts poem. Your response should take the form of a well-
as a ‘map’ to the individual and how to create your own constructed essay of 250–300 words (about ONE page). (10)
happiness and face the realities of the world. Wilcox QUESTION 2 - CONTEXTUAL
makes it clear that she believes that all people exist in a 1. Comment on the personification in stanza 1. (3)
state of solitude. Life needs to be tackled with practicality 2. Describe the reaction of the ‘echoes’ (line 7) to the
and self-reliance. prompts given. (2)
• This poem is about how people respond to the 3. What does “shrink” mean as used in line 8? (2)
emotional state of others: happy people tend to attract 4. Suggest a possible example of “life’s gall”. (2)
the company and friendship of many others; sad people 5. Why does the speaker suggest that “pain” is travelled
tend to become isolated and lonely because people tend to through “narrow aisles”? (2)
shy away from negative emotions. 6. Paraphrase and explain the line: “ Succeed and give,
• In the final stanza, the poet explains how everyone must and it helps you live.” (3)
ultimately go through pain and suffering alone - although 7. Discuss the effectiveness of the title of the poem in
others can bear witness, this experience is inevitably a relation to its contents. (3)
solitary one. The poet is not necessarily saying that people 8. Is the speaker in this overly cynical? Discuss your
are selfish - just that a person can observe others’ deepest opinion. (3)
feelings but cannot actually experience them. 9. Would “Loneliness” have been a better title for the
• Irony – Simple level – We are all alone in our suffering/ poem? Discuss your answer and make reference to the
grief but on a complex level – there is a commonality in a connotations/denotations of both words (solitude and
sense that every person has to endure this so we are loneliness) in your answer. (3)
united on that common ground.
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”)

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