Existence

Ella Wheeler Wilcox's Existence

Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s Existence is a philosophical and spiritually charged poem that grapples with the human condition—our struggles, our transient presence in the cosmos, and our intrinsic connection to a greater creative force. Written in the late 19th or early 20th century, the poem reflects the intellectual and spiritual currents of its time, blending elements of transcendentalism, evolutionary optimism, and a proto-existentialist acceptance of life’s hardships. Through its lyrical yet didactic tone, Existence offers both consolation and challenge, urging the reader to trust in a divine plan while actively engaging with the present moment.

This essay will explore the poem’s historical and cultural context, its use of literary devices, its central themes, and its emotional impact. Additionally, we will consider Wilcox’s biographical influences, philosophical underpinnings, and the poem’s resonance with other works of spiritual and existential literature.

Historical and Cultural Context

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) was a popular American poet whose work straddled the sentimentalism of the Victorian era and the burgeoning modernist questioning of traditional religious and social structures. Her poetry often engaged with themes of optimism, self-reliance, and spiritual evolution, reflecting the influence of New Thought philosophy, which emphasized the power of positive thinking and the interconnectedness of all life.

Existence emerges from a period of rapid scientific and philosophical change. Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) had reshaped humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe, while spiritualist movements sought to reconcile science with a belief in a higher order. Wilcox’s poem synthesizes these ideas, presenting human life as both fleeting and cosmically significant. The poem’s assertion that "you are part of the Beginning" and "parcel of To-day" echoes the transcendentalist belief in the divine immanence in nature and the individual, as seen in the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman.

Moreover, the late 19th century was marked by industrialization, social upheaval, and the erosion of traditional religious certainties. Wilcox’s poem, with its emphasis on endurance and trust in a "Great One, the All-Seeing," offers a spiritual counterbalance to the anxieties of modernity. Unlike the bleak existentialism that would emerge in the 20th century, Wilcox’s vision remains hopeful, insisting that suffering has meaning within a grand, if inscrutable, design.

Literary Devices and Structure

Wilcox employs a range of literary devices to convey her message with both emotional depth and rhetorical force.

1. Imagery and Symbolism

The poem is rich in contrasting images that evoke the dualities of human experience:

• Light and Shadow: "sunlit hours are haunted / With the shadowy shapes of care" suggests that even in moments of brightness, suffering lingers.

• Spatial Vastness: "chasms intervening / ’Twixt your purpose and your goal" conveys the immense psychological and existential gaps between aspiration and fulfillment.

• Cosmic Motion: "Forth from planet unto planet" and "speed from star to star" evoke a sense of perpetual journeying, reinforcing the idea that earthly life is but a brief stage in a larger spiritual evolution.

These images serve to universalize the human experience, situating individual struggles within an infinite, divinely ordered cosmos.

2. Anaphora and Parallelism

The repetition of "You can" in the first two stanzas ("You can trust and you can wait"; "You can wait the WHY of these") creates a rhythmic insistence, reinforcing the poem’s exhortation to patience and faith. Similarly, the parallel structure in "You are part of the Beginning, / You are parcel of To-day" underscores the simultaneity of human transience and eternal significance.

3. Paradox and Juxtaposition

Wilcox frequently juxtaposes opposing ideas to highlight life’s complexities:

• "stinted sweets of pleasure, / And of pain's too generous measure" contrasts the scarcity of joy with the abundance of suffering.

• "When the IS becomes the WAS" collapses temporal boundaries, suggesting that existence transcends linear time.

These paradoxes deepen the poem’s philosophical weight, inviting the reader to hold contradictory truths in tension.

Themes

1. Suffering and Divine Purpose

The central theme of Existence is the reconciliation of human suffering with a benevolent cosmic order. Wilcox does not dismiss pain as meaningless; rather, she frames it as part of a divine pedagogy:

"You can wait to know the meaning / Of the troubles sent your soul."

This echoes the biblical Book of Job, where suffering is ultimately justified by a wisdom beyond human comprehension. However, Wilcox’s approach is less theistic and more evolutionary—her "Great One" is not a distant judge but an immanent force propelling the soul toward enlightenment.

2. Impermanence and Cosmic Journeying

The poem’s third stanza introduces a striking metaphor of life as interstellar travel:

"Earth retains you but a minute, / Make the best of what lies in it."

This aligns with the Buddhist concept of samsara (the cycle of rebirth) and the Hermetic idea of the soul’s ascent through spheres of existence. Wilcox’s vision is neither nihilistic nor escapist; instead, she urges active engagement with the present ("Light the pathway where you are") while acknowledging life’s brevity.

3. The Eternal Self Within the Temporal

The final stanza merges the ephemeral with the eternal:

"When the system falls to pieces, / […] You will live, for you will enter / In the great Creative Centre."

Here, Wilcox suggests that individual consciousness is not annihilated by death but reintegrated into the universal creative force—a concept reminiscent of Hindu Brahman or Plotinus’ The One. This pantheistic view offers solace without denying the reality of dissolution.

Emotional Impact

Wilcox’s poem strikes a delicate balance between consolation and challenge. Its tone is both tender and authoritative, offering reassurance ("you are wanted") while demanding resilience ("you can trust and you can wait"). The emotional resonance lies in its refusal to offer easy answers—it acknowledges sorrow ("the silence and denials") yet insists on purpose.

For readers grappling with existential doubt, the poem provides a framework for enduring uncertainty. Unlike the despair of modernist poetry (e.g., T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land), Existence retains a 19th-century optimism, yet its acknowledgment of suffering prevents it from becoming saccharine.

Comparative and Philosophical Perspectives

Wilcox’s poem can be fruitfully compared to:

• Whitman’s "Song of Myself": Both celebrate the individual’s cosmic significance, though Whitman’s exuberance contrasts with Wilcox’s more solemn tone.

• Tennyson’s In Memoriam: Like Wilcox, Tennyson wrestles with faith amid suffering, though his doubts are more pronounced.

• Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet: Both advocate patience and inward growth, though Rilke’s existentialism is more secular.

Philosophically, the poem bridges Stoicism (endurance of fate) and Romanticism (trust in a sublime order). Its insistence on active waiting ("you can wait and you can trust") prefigures Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, which finds meaning in suffering.

Conclusion

Existence is a poem of profound spiritual and intellectual depth, offering a vision of life that is both transient and eternal, painful yet purposeful. Wilcox’s synthesis of 19th-century optimism with cosmic existentialism creates a work that remains strikingly relevant. In an age of dislocation and anxiety, her call to "light the pathway where you are" serves as both a comfort and a challenge—an invitation to find meaning not despite suffering, but within it.

Through its masterful use of imagery, paradox, and rhythmic insistence, the poem transcends its era, speaking to the perennial human quest for belonging and purpose. In Wilcox’s universe, we are neither insignificant nor alone; we are, instead, wayfarers in an infinite journey, forever held within the "All-Enduring Cause."

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