What Shall We Do?
The poem explores the theme of a romantic relationship where the speaker and their lover are at a crossroads, unsure of what to do with their feelings for each other. The speaker describes the intensity of their emotions, acknowledging that they have reached a point where they must make a decision about their future together.
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox · First published 1888 · Genre: Poetry, Romance, Drama · 255 words
First lines
Here now forevermore our lives must part. My path leads there, and yours another way. What shall we do with this fond love, dear heart? It grows a heavier burden day by day.
Hide it? In all earth's caverns, void and vast, There is not room enough to hide it, dear; Not even the mighty storehouse of the past Could cover it from our own eyes, I fear.
Drown it? Why, were the contents of each ocean Merged into one great sea, too shallow then Would be its waters to sink this emotion So deep it could not rise to life again.
Burn it? In all the furnace flames below, It would not in a thousand years expire. Nay! it would thrive, exult, expand, and grow, For from its very birth it fed on fire.
What this Textopian page supports
What Shall We Do? is listed on Textopian as a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, dated 1888 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Date: 1888 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romance, Drama, Philosophy
- Length: 255 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for What Shall We Do? by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Poetry — The text is written in verse and employs poetic devices such as rhyme and meter.
- Romance — The central theme revolves around love and the emotional struggles associated with it.
- Drama — The narrative explores intense emotional conflicts and dramatic expressions of feelings.
- Philosophy — The text contemplates existential questions and the nature of human emotions.
Tags
Philosophy · Poetry · Social Commentary · Societal Issues · Human Condition · Existential Crisis · Free Verse · American Literature · Early 20th Century · Women Authors · Feminist Literature · Psychological Insight