Ella Whelle's Poetry Essay

Poetry’s beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is written with rules and guidelines yet is a versatile piece of literature. Some poets like to bend the rules while others would just write what their heart desired. Ella Wheller Wilcox was one of the poets who loved to write about her beliefs. Ella’s poetry was known as didactic, which the critics looked down upon but her poetry was widely enjoyed and the public did not seem to have the same thoughts as the critics did. In fact her didactic ways is what drew me into her most famous poem, Solitude. Solitude is a simple yet moving poem that shows the reader the fight between good and evil. Wheller shows us in Solitude the constant battle of our inner demons and how to defeat the lesser evil. Ella Wheller Wilcox is born into an artistic family on November 5th 1850 in Johnstown, Wisconsin. She grew up on a farm with her father, Marcus and her mother, Sarah. Marcus prior to his farming career was a music teacher and Sarah always had a passion for literature. Sarah passed this passion on to Ella at a very young age, often reading her
Shakespeare and focusing on writing rather then helping out on the farm. The father coming from a music back round was understanding and didn’t mind her following of literature. Ella’s schooling started a local district school which is now named after her. She attended Wisconsin University by the age of fifteen but preferred independent writing at home and a social life, so she dropped out after a year. Her mother had been her teacher since such a young age which seem to be where Ella was most comfortable. Ella seemed to have bend the rules from the start of her career. Ella’s first piece of writing was a novel of 10 chapters written on scrap papers bonded together at age 10. At age 15 Ella had an essay that was formally published in the New York Mecury. At this time in her life she has finished high school as a well known state poet thanks to the article. Ellas first volume of poems was Drops of Water which was influenced by the probation taking place at the time. A few years later a second volume of poems was released called Shells. At this time Ella was 23 and under-compensated for her work. She didn’t start earning substantial money for her poetry until nearly 20 years after her start of literature but accrued a strong following. Maurine is a narrative poem of two women which foreshadows the theme of Ella’s most famous poem Solitude. Pfalzgraf interrupts the womens differences as, “Helen who is weak and passive and Maurine who is assertive and strong” (p.g. 239). The comparison of positive and negative become a recurring theme in Ella’s work. “Solitude” was introduced in the New York Sun on February 25 1883.
However Ella didn’t receive her fame for the poem until it was reprinted in Poems of Passion later on that year. According to Constantakis, “It was oringally named, ‘The Way of the World’ but remains unknown why the title was changed” (p.g 255). Solitude is a poem celebrating the joy of life but not forgetting the sorrows one may face. It voices that people who are in a happier place must try and reach out to those in a time of need. Critics found this poem to be didactic because of its symbolic lesson and as Constantakis mentions, “ Wilcox was often dispeared for her obvious and simple ryhme schemes.” (p.g.254) Ella always seemed to have this way of thinking of putting out postive energy as it has been previously showed in poems before. Solitude however was influenced through a very specific moment in her
life. Ella was on a train on her way to a ball which is a joyious occasion. According to Constantakis sitting next to Ella was lady in mourning and low spirits.