Let No Charitable Hope poetry outline

Blog Post 5: Let No Charitable Hope by Elinor Wylie

Thesis: In Let No Charitable Hope by Elinor Wylie, the poet uses specific diction to describe the speaker’s character and personality to the audience.

1.      Wylie chooses animals that connote freedom within the poem in order to contrast their connotations to the lifestyle of the speaker.

a.       The speaker explains that she is not “Of eagle and of antelope” in nature (3). Eagles and antelopes connote freedom, for the bald eagle is the symbol of American freedom and an antelope roams freely through the wilderness. The speaker expresses to the audience that she lacks this freedom in her life.

b.      Additionally, the speaker states “I live by squeezing from a stone / The little nourishment I get” (7-8). The alliteration between ‘squeezing’ and ‘stone’ makes this section stand out. It is impossible to squeeze anything from a stone, let alone nourishment. This shows that the speaker lives a life full of hardships.

2.      Also, the poet uses specific word choice to describe the life the speaker is living, emphasizing the hardships she encounters.

a.       The speaker explains “I am, being woman, hard beset” (6). She claims that she has a difficult personality and does not form close relationships with other people. All in all, the speaker’s life does not appeal to the audience at this time in the poem.

b.      The speaker also explains that the years in her life go by “In masks outrageous and austere” (9). ‘Outrageous’ describes something that is wrong and ‘austere’ means to be without ease. These adjectives also add emphasis to these definitions, adding an even more negative tone to the poem; these years that go by in the speaker’s life are harsh.

3.      The tone shift in the last two lines of the poem contrast the speaker’s character to the life she lives.

a.       The second to last line of the poem states “But none has merited my fear” (11). ‘None’ refers to ‘the years’ found in line 10. The use of the coordinating conjunction ‘but’ emphasizes the tone shift that occurs in the second to last line, for the speaker expresses that she is not afraid of the harsh life she lives.

b.      The poem ends with the line “And none has quite escaped my smile” (12). Again, ‘none’ refers back to ‘the years’ of the speaker’s life. The word ‘smile’ not only denotes happiness, but also connotes carefree outlook on life. It gives the illusion that the speaker sees the hardships of her life, but smiles anyway because she will not let anything bring her down. Overall, these last two lines display the strength and resilience in the speaker’s personality and character.