When Love Is Lost
The poem explores the theme of lost love and its aftermath. It describes the pain and longing that linger after a romantic relationship has ended. The speaker reflects on the memories of the past, remembering the joy and beauty that once existed in the relationship. However, this nostalgia is tempered by the harsh reality of the present, where love has been lost and cannot be regained.
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox · First published 1884 · Genre: Poetry, Romance, Tragedy · 173 words
First lines
WHEN love is lost, the day sets towards the night, Albeit the morning sun may still be bright, And not one cloud-ship sails across the sky. Yet from the places where it used to lie Gone is the lustrous glory of the light.
No splendour rests in any mountain height, No scene spreads fair and beauteous to the sight; All, all seems dull and dreary to the eye When love is lost.
Love lends to life its grandeur and its might; Love goes, and leaves behind it gloom and blight; Like ghosts of time the pallid hours drag by, And grief's one happy thought is that we die. Ah, what can recompense us for its flight When love is lost?
What this Textopian page supports
When Love Is Lost is listed on Textopian as a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, dated 1884 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: 1884 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romance, Tragedy, Philosophical
- Length: 173 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for When Love Is Lost by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering When Love Is Lost?
- How does this poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Poetry first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- Last Love by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- If I Could Only Weep by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- A Minor Chord by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- On A Cornelian Heart Which Was Broken by Lord Byron
- The Statue by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Sorry by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse and employs poetic devices such as rhyme and meter.
- Romance — The central theme revolves around the emotional impact of lost love.
- Tragedy — The tone and content focus on sorrow and the bleakness following the loss of love.
- Philosophical — The text contemplates the nature of love and its significance in life.
Tags
Romance · Tragedy · Loss · Grief · Heartbreak · Poetry · Classic Literature · American Literature · 19th Century · Melancholy · Sorrow · Longing