Solitude is usually defined as “the state of being, or living alone. Seclusion”.

We have the dictionary definition above, but what does solitude mean for the writer?

In his oft quoted poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” Wordsworth describes solitude as a state of bliss:

“For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.”

(see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud).

There are, of course individuals who do everything within their power to avoid solitude, for they fear being alone with their own thoughts. As Philip Larkin so eloquently puts it in “Aubade”, being alone, in the early morn focuses the mind on death, which is uncomfortable for many:

“Most things may never happen: this one will,   

And realisation of it rages…