Now Let No Charitable Hope
Elinor Wylie
1885 to 1928
Now let no charitable hope
Confuse my mind with images
Of eagle and of antelope:
I am by nature none of these.
I was, being human, born alone;
I am, being woman, hard beset;
I live by squeezing from a stone
The little nourishment I get.
In masks outrageous and austere
The years go by in single file;
But none has merited my fear,
And none has quite escaped my smile.
Elinor Wylie's Now Let No Charitable Hope
Introduction
Elinor Wylie's poem "Now Let No Charitable Hope" stands as a testament to the intricate interplay between human nature, societal expectations, and the inexorable passage of time. This twelve-line poem, rich in imagery and metaphor, offers a profound meditation on the human condition, particularly through the lens of a woman's experience in the early 20th century. Wylie, known for her precise and often enigmatic style, crafts a piece that resonates with themes of isolation, resilience, and the complex relationship between the individual and the world around them.
Analysis of Structure and Form
The poem is structured in three quatrains, each following an ABAB rhyme scheme. This orderly structure provides a framework for the poet's exploration of chaotic and challenging themes, creating a tension between form and content that mirrors the speaker's internal struggle. The meter, predominantly iambic tetrameter, lends a rhythmic quality to the verse, evoking a sense of relentless forward motion that echoes the poem's thematic concern with the passage of time.
Wylie's choice of a relatively short form for such weighty subject matter is deliberate and effective. The concision of the poem mirrors the speaker's assertion of living by "squeezing from a stone / The little nourishment I get," suggesting that even in language, every word must be carefully chosen and laden with meaning.
Imagery and Metaphor
The opening quatrain immediately establishes a dichotomy between the speaker and the natural world. The invocation of the "eagle" and "antelope" serves multiple purposes. Firstly, these animals represent ideals of freedom, grace, and natural harmony that the speaker explicitly rejects for herself. The eagle, soaring above earthly concerns, and the antelope, embodying swift elegance, stand in stark contrast to the speaker's self-characterization.
This rejection of "charitable hope" and natural imagery sets the tone for the poem's exploration of human existence as fundamentally separate from the idealized natural world. The speaker asserts her humanity and, by extension, her isolation, in a move that is both defiant and tinged with melancholy.
Gender and Identity
The second quatrain delves deeper into the speaker's identity, introducing gender as a crucial aspect of her experience. The line "I am, being woman, hard beset" is particularly loaded, hinting at the societal pressures and expectations placed upon women. The use of "hard beset" suggests a state of being under siege, constantly challenged or oppressed by external forces.
This quatrain also introduces the striking metaphor of "squeezing from a stone / The little nourishment I get." This image is multifaceted, evoking ideas of scarcity, struggle, and the extraction of sustenance from seemingly impossible sources. It speaks to resilience in the face of adversity, but also to the meagerness of what life offers. The stone, unyielding and lifeless, stands in stark contrast to the vibrant natural world rejected in the first stanza, further emphasizing the speaker's alienation from idealized existence.
Time and Perspective
The final quatrain shifts focus to the passage of time, personifying years as entities that "go by in single file." This image evokes a sense of relentless progression, each year distinct yet part of an unbroken chain. The description of these years wearing "masks outrageous and austere" is particularly evocative, suggesting that time presents various faces to the observer, sometimes shocking, sometimes severe.
The speaker's attitude towards these passing years is complex. The assertion that "none has merited my fear" speaks to a certain stoicism or inner strength. However, this is immediately balanced by the admission that "none has quite escaped my smile." This juxtaposition of fearlessness and amusement suggests a nuanced perspective on life's challenges, neither cowering before them nor dismissing them entirely.
Tone and Voice
Throughout the poem, Wylie maintains a voice that is at once declarative and introspective. The repeated use of "I" statements emphasizes the personal nature of the speaker's observations, while the confident tone belies the vulnerability inherent in such self-exposure. There's a defiance in the speaker's self-characterization, a refusal to be defined by others' expectations or by comparison to idealized natural forms.
The overall tone of the poem is one of measured resignation tinged with resilience. While the speaker acknowledges the difficulties of her existence, there's no sense of despair or defeat. Instead, we see a clear-eyed assessment of life's challenges and a determination to face them on one's own terms.
Historical and Literary Context
To fully appreciate "Now Let No Charitable Hope," it's crucial to consider Wylie's place in the literary landscape of the early 20th century. As a female poet writing in a time of significant social change, Wylie's work often grappled with issues of identity, gender roles, and the place of the individual in society. This poem can be read as a response to the Romantic idealization of nature and the individual's relationship to it, offering instead a more complex and ambivalent view of human existence.
The poem's themes also resonate with the broader modernist movement in literature, which often explored alienation, the fragmentation of traditional values, and the search for meaning in an increasingly chaotic world. Wylie's precise language and complex imagery align with modernist techniques, while her exploration of the self in relation to society and nature echoes concerns found in the work of contemporaries like T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf.
Conclusion
"Now Let No Charitable Hope" stands as a powerful exploration of human identity, resilience, and the passage of time. Through its careful structure, vivid imagery, and nuanced tone, the poem offers a complex meditation on what it means to be human—and specifically, to be a woman—in a world that often seems indifferent or hostile.
Wylie's speaker rejects easy categorizations and comfortable illusions, instead embracing a clear-eyed, if difficult, reality. The poem suggests that true strength lies not in conforming to idealized notions of existence, but in accepting one's nature and facing life's challenges with a combination of stoicism and wry amusement.
Ultimately, "Now Let No Charitable Hope" is a testament to the power of the human spirit to find meaning and even moments of joy in the face of adversity. It challenges readers to consider their own relationship to societal expectations, the natural world, and the inexorable march of time, offering a perspective that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.