Solitaire (Amy Lowell) by Amy Lowell
In “Solitaire,” the speaker describes how the quiet of night releases the mind into playful, imaginative freedom. As darkness settles over the city and people extinguish their candles, the mind peeks and peers, roaming through old blue Chinese gardens and Pagan temples among broken white pillars. It gambles with dice-cups, dances crowned with purple and yellow crocuses, and flutters brightly over wet grass. In the city’s stillness, the speaker’s mind becomes light, laughing, and liberated.
By Amy Lowell · First published 1920 · Genre: Poetry, Biographical, Historical · 122 words
First lines
When night drifts along the streets of the city, / And sifts down between the uneven roofs, / My mind begins to peek and peer.
It plays at ball in old, blue Chinese gardens, / And shakes wrought dice-cups in Pagan temples, / Amid the broken flutings of white pillars.
It dances with purple and yellow crocuses in its hair, / And its feet shine as they flutter over drenched grasses.
How light and laughing my mind is, / When all the good folk have put out their bed-room candles, / And the city is still!
What this Textopian page supports
Solitaire (Amy Lowell) is listed on Textopian as a poem by Amy Lowell, dated 1920 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Amy Lowell
- Date: 1920 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Biographical, Historical, Literary Fiction
- Length: 122 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Solitaire (Amy Lowell) by Amy Lowell
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Poetry — The book is a collection of poems written by D.H. Lawrence in tribute to Amy Lowell, making it categorically fall under the genre of poetry.
- Biographical — The poems pay homage to Amy Lowell, a fellow poet and contemporary of D.H. Lawrence, delving into aspects of her life and perspectives, allowing the book to also fall under the genre of biography.
- Historical — The poems reflect on the lives and experiences of people in a specific historical context, thus it can be considered as a part of the historical genre.
- Literary Fiction — Despite being written in the form of poetry, the themes and profound messages explored within the work could categorise it within the realm of literary fiction.
Tags
solitude · introspection · nature · emotion · love · loss · identity · existentialism · poetry · self-discovery · human experience · reflection