Ella Wheeler Wilcox: Empathy and Commonplace Sensations

Abstract

The poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox is under-researched proportional to the prevalence she held during her lifetime. This research project will aim to identify features that distinguished Wilcox from her contemporaries. It is my belief that much of her popularity is owed to her poetry’s structure and empathetic subject matter exhibited throughout her many works. To demonstrate Wilcox’s competency to catch the public eye I plan to examine her most popular poetic works: Poems of Passion and Drops of Water. Wilcox reveals a lot about herself in her two autobiographies: The Story of a Literary Career and The Worlds and I. Beginning her ardent literary career at fourteen allowed Ella to advance in style and technique rather quickly. After a failed historic piece, one editor commanded her to “send us heartache verses”. This order appears to have fueled much of Ella’s work, eventually publishing Poems of Passion as a result. In the careful reading of these and similar compositions, the "heartache verses" that were requested of Ella, one can understand these stanzas as the reputable works that they are. Works like "Solitude" and "Bleak Weather" point us to her cherished rhymes and opposing commonplace emotions that Wilcox was able to empathize with, regardless of her personal familiarity. The vast readership of Wilcox's verse is testimony to her employment of evocative language and commonplace sensations. Ella Wheeler Wilcox's literary career ought to be studied further and taught to a much wider audience than the one currently familiar with her work. Wilcox reveals a lot about herself in her two autobiographies: The Story of a Literary Career and The Worlds and I. These volumes disclose, in great detail, Wilcox's journey to reach such a noble rank in the eyes of the common reader. Her many titles of poetry and magazine appearances comprise the bulk of her well-known pieces, though not all. In the careful reading of these shared compositions, the "heartache verses" that were requested of Ella, one can understand these stanzas as the prestigious works that they are. Works like "Solitude" and "Bleak Weather" point us to the opposing yet extreme emotions that Wilcox was able to empathize with, regardless of her personal familiarity. The vast readership of Wilcox's verse is testimony to her employment of evocative linguistics and commonplace sensations. Ella Wheeler Wilcox's literary career ought to be studied further and taught to a much wider audience than the one who is currently familiar with her work.

Start Time

16-4-2025 9:00 AM

End Time

16-4-2025 10:00 AM

Room Number

272

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Presentation Subtype

Research-in-Progress

Presentation Category

Art and Humanities

Faculty Mentor

Thomas Holmes

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 16th, 9:00 AM Apr 16th, 10:00 AM

Ella Wheeler Wilcox: Empathy and Commonplace Sensations

272

The poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox is under-researched proportional to the prevalence she held during her lifetime. This research project will aim to identify features that distinguished Wilcox from her contemporaries. It is my belief that much of her popularity is owed to her poetry’s structure and empathetic subject matter exhibited throughout her many works. To demonstrate Wilcox’s competency to catch the public eye I plan to examine her most popular poetic works: Poems of Passion and Drops of Water. Wilcox reveals a lot about herself in her two autobiographies: The Story of a Literary Career and The Worlds and I. Beginning her ardent literary career at fourteen allowed Ella to advance in style and technique rather quickly. After a failed historic piece, one editor commanded her to “send us heartache verses”. This order appears to have fueled much of Ella’s work, eventually publishing Poems of Passion as a result. In the careful reading of these and similar compositions, the "heartache verses" that were requested of Ella, one can understand these stanzas as the reputable works that they are. Works like "Solitude" and "Bleak Weather" point us to her cherished rhymes and opposing commonplace emotions that Wilcox was able to empathize with, regardless of her personal familiarity. The vast readership of Wilcox's verse is testimony to her employment of evocative language and commonplace sensations. Ella Wheeler Wilcox's literary career ought to be studied further and taught to a much wider audience than the one currently familiar with her work. Wilcox reveals a lot about herself in her two autobiographies: The Story of a Literary Career and The Worlds and I. These volumes disclose, in great detail, Wilcox's journey to reach such a noble rank in the eyes of the common reader. Her many titles of poetry and magazine appearances comprise the bulk of her well-known pieces, though not all. In the careful reading of these shared compositions, the "heartache verses" that were requested of Ella, one can understand these stanzas as the prestigious works that they are. Works like "Solitude" and "Bleak Weather" point us to the opposing yet extreme emotions that Wilcox was able to empathize with, regardless of her personal familiarity. The vast readership of Wilcox's verse is testimony to her employment of evocative linguistics and commonplace sensations. Ella Wheeler Wilcox's literary career ought to be studied further and taught to a much wider audience than the one who is currently familiar with her work.