Poems of Passion

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Fiction

102 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1883

About the author

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet.

Her best-known work was "Poems of Passion". Her most enduring work was the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines:

"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone".

Her autobiography, "The Worlds and I", was published in 1918, a year before her death.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

2016 Reading Challenge Category: A book of poetry.

I first discovered Ella Wheeler Wilcox's Poems of Passion on my grandparents' shelf many years ago. Now the book sits on my shelf. I love that I have a book from 1883 in my home. I love that it has passed through so many hands. (There's a handwritten inscription in the front from 1892!) Most of all, I love that the poems still speak to me today. Some of my personal favorites:

"Impatience"
"The Common Lot"
"Individuality"

I especially love the poems where the voice is that of a strong woman, almost feminist in tone.

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski]

Oldboy (2003) izleyenlerin çok iyi bildiği bir alıntı vardır adamın içinden geçen.
Bu yazardanmış.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems of Passion
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

printed in 1883 this book is an interesting collection. to find similar feelings and frustrations. passions and ideals back then which have limited scope. it seems from the modern eye that love has a wider breath and her poems in some case seem to span emotional connections that vasulate from love of men and love between women. its an interesting look at a young womans passions before marriage...

[M Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Populist poetry. It's easygoing, accessible, light, and schmaltzy. It has its moments but is otherwise lowbrow, populist literature

[Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of classic romantic poetry. Written over 100 years ago, yet filled with the passion of today's heart and soul. I have many favorites in this book.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to read through these poems published in 1883, but even more fun to read my grandmother’s notes throughout.

[Michelle Brandstetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found several entries within this 120 year old text that were thought provoking and perceptive [and I just love old books]. There were a few though that I failed to gain the rhythm and sometimes even an understanding. This may be due to the fact that I often read late into the night. My favorite lines come in the last paragraph of her preface, which reads, "With all due thanks and appreciation for the kind motives which interest so many dear friends in my career, I yet feel compelled to follow the light which my own intellect and judgment cast upon my way, rather than any one of the many conflicting rays which other minds would lend me." Ella Wheeler (1883)

My volume was published 10 years after she wrote these lines.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella is one of my favorite poets. She said she had been accused of always writing sentimental poetry so she put together this book of poems of passion. She had a wondrous vocabulary and many interests. She was able to write from a man's point of view as well as her own. Ella wrote at a time when poetry had rhyme and rhythm, but her poetry flows, and the rhyming does not seem contrived.

There were some typos in the Kindle edition, and I have not checked them against an original publication of her poems. I know that in some of the original editions, the print was not always clear.

[Kcbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly inspiring! This is my first time reading anything written by Ella and yet I'm floored that her work reminds me so much of my adolescent poems. I can easily say that even though these were written in the late 1800s they are still relevant to present day situations. It's a comforting read, in that Ella is able to write exactly what I am feeling when I can't find the words...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a personal connection with this particular poetry book and that is why I have read the book back to front more than once!! I absolutely love it!! And I think that Ella Wheeler Wilcox was a pioneer for women poets everywhere.

[Andrew Cowart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella Wheeler Wilcox writes on the topic of love better than any other. I bought this book because it contains the poem “loves language” which is one of my absolute favorites. The woman could write. She is largely underrated.

[Maguxy Ruiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mi único comentario es que esta señora está incluída en antologías de los peores poemas de la literatura norteamericana, lo corroboro, doy fe.

[Barri Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy poetry, you will love this book. I read it twice, and will read it again. My two favorite poems were "Solitude" and "Ad Infinem".

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Malola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful...

Oh, you who read some song that I have sung,
What know you of the soul from whence it sprung?

Great command of her words and the rhythm was just amazing.
The first half was great. It showed melancholy, gravitas, depth in love... The description of the overwhelming beauty (yuugen) of nature was on point.
Some poems really jumped out, they embrace you in an uplifting kind of way (it's the cadence and pacing). At times a bit (melo)dramatic, but I think she wanted to punch the reader with the rhythm and her choice of words while keeping the 'proper' way of doing poetry. (On a side note: Emily Dickinson was really a revolutionary by not adscribing to traditional rules of poetry.)
The second half... I'm not sure how they're poems of passion. I think it's a bit of a stretch there, but to a degree they fit the theme.

A couple of the poems related to 'turn the page' and moving on reminded me to her book The Heart of the New Thought.

[Ridge Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

“As I look up into your eyes and wait
For some response to my fond gaze and touch,
It seems to me there is no sadder fate
Than to be doomed to loving overmuch.”

Not gonna lie, this is not my favorite poetry book I’ve read. But I love it just the same. This book came to me at the right time - just when my broken heart needed a mirror to see clearly its brokenness and all the spaces where gold must flow so it can be put back in the best way possible.

[Collins Chipeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although old but I give much appreciation to the simplicity with which the poems were presented.

[Ayesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much ! So glad I came across it, the poems are so relatable and it’s definitely one that I will go back to :’)

[Raven Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a thrift store, and ended up reading it all in one sitting. There are some lovely poems in this collection. I also received a used copy, whose previous owner was not very pleased with the semi-blasphemous lines, per his footnotes.

[Rhonda Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ella's poetry I think I could have been her in another life

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmmm. Only 1 poem, 'That Day', got this collection a second star. Just too overblown.