Dearest Whitman...

Celia http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/celia-2/



Celia, we know, is sixty-five,
Yet Celia's face is seventeen;
Thus winter in her breast must live,
While summer in her face is seen.

How cruel Celia's fate, who hence
Our heart's devotion cannot try;
Too pretty for our reverence,
Too ancient for our gallantry!

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope was an Augustan poet and this poem follows the patterns one would expect of an Augustan poem. He was known for his work with classical translations and bore the nickname"The Wicked Wasp of Twickenham" for his literary satires that were noted to be rather "stinging".  He employs paradox in the youth and age of Celia. This is a humorous approach to the subject matter. His description of her age also seems to be an implication of her life's frailty because of her ability to be young and old all at once, implying a short existence. 

Celia is known to be elderly, but she has a young face which would imply a sense of innocence. This is contrasted with the winter in her breast which would signify a hardening of her heart. This hardening would convey an experienced life of pain and struggles, but she doesn't show that she's been hurt because summer is seen in he face. Her fate is cruel because we can't appreciate her struggles; they are unseen to the speaker. In contrast, she has still had all those experiences despite their hidden nature making her inaccessible to the youths that surround her.