Edna St. Vincent Millay - 847 Words

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1923) used the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, also known as an Italian sonnet for her poem â€Å"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why.† The Petrarchan sonnet was a form of love poetry in the fourteenth century and is the most widely used amongst English poets. Petrarchan sonnets consist of an octave followed by a sestet and a volta, which is either located at the end of the octave or the beginning of the sestet and is used to change the point of view or emotion. Millay’s poem follows the basic components of a Petrarchan sonnet: an eight-line octave of two quatrains with the fixed end-rhyme pattern, ABBA ABBA, followed by a six-line sestet with the end-rhyme pattern, CDEDCE. As shown in Millay’s sonnet, there is an iambic pentameter and metrical verse with five main stresses, which has regular alternations of stressed and unstressed syllables, mimicking a heartbeat. I argue that although Millay follows the fixed form of a Petrar chan sonnet, there is a relevant modern twist since she portrays a female perspective on love and longing, which is unusual for sonnets since they are typically written by men. I am of the opinion that â€Å"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why† is narrated from a female perspective who is reminiscing her past relationships. Millay uses the contrast between the present and the past; feelings in the present and memories of the past. This contrast is highlighted by memories in the octave and present feelings in theShow MoreRelatedEdna St. Vincent Millay950 Words   |  4 Pagesopening lines seem to simultaneously show love as something old, trite, and exciting. In â€Å"[Women have loved before as I love now]†, Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the ancient love stories of the past and how she relates to them. She writes how she used to seek out the parts which focused on love, describing the love of past women as something passionate and strong. Millay also goes on to say that out of all the women alive, she feels that only she connects with the love of the past, and that only sheRead MoreEssay about Edna St. Vincent Millay957 Words   |  4 PagesEdna St. Vincent Millay Her career that spanned three decades and her work that ranges from lyrics to verse play and political commentary. Edna St. Vincent Millay is mostly known for her earlier works, such as Renascence, Few Figs Thistles, and Second April. Millay wrote about things such as mystical views on the universe, god, death, celebration of feminism, and free love. Its almost as if she was a writer from today and with that, I believe that she would be comfortable with todaysRead MoreEdna St. Vincent Millay s Sonnet Iv1122 Words   |  5 PagesEdna St. Vincent Millay’s â€Å"Sonnet IV† is a sonnet spoken from the point of view of a woman who is permitting herself to remember an old lover over the duration of her cigarette. The poem is set up through the classical structure of a Petrarchan sonnet and shares the topic of a lost lover. The octave follows the course of the dream, which takes the form of smoke and shadows. The volta marks the end of the cigarette and the dream, but the speaker still continues her memories in the sestet to followRead MoreEdna St. Vincent Millay s Sonnet Iv1257 Words   |  6 PagesWord count: 289 Fugacious Relationships and Everlasting Memories in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s â€Å"Sonnet IV† Edna St. Vincent Millay’s â€Å"Sonnet IV† follows many of the conventions of the traditional Petrarchan sonnet. It follows the traditional rhyming scheme and octet, sestet structure. However it challenges the conventions of the typical subject of the Italian sonnet, unrequited love. In the octet at the beginning of the poem Millay uses images that give a sense of transience and in the ending sestetRead More What lips my lips have kissed by Edna St. Vincent Millay Essays685 Words   |  3 PagesWhat lips my lips have kissed by Edna St. Vincent Millay While reading What lips my lips have kissed by Edna St. Vincent Millay, I realized many things about myself. The first thing was that I, after thinking I would never be able to decipher one word of poetry, actually could. I also found that I was able to enjoy it. Another thing was that the narrator (whom I felt was a woman- no man could portray these feelings like a woman) and I had strikingly similar feelings. There happened to be manyRead MoreFree Verse Techniques Conveying Structure an Analysis of â€Å"Spring† by Edna St. Vincent Millay1512 Words   |  7 PagesFree Verse Techniques Conveying Structure An Analysis of â€Å"Spring† By Edna St. Vincent Millay Composed in free verse, the poem â€Å"Spring† by Edna St. Vincent Millay contains many poetic elements that create a feeling of structure throughout.   As free verse challenges the conventions of writing, so too, does St. Vincent Millay’s interpretation of Spring challenge societies conventional beliefs associated with the season. Millay uses various different poetic elements of writing as effective alternativesRead MoreLove Poetry By Edna St. Vincent Millay1927 Words   |  8 Pagesreviving these forms and making them more fresh and relevant. American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay can be seen to fit into this category. She is particularly well known for her sonnets. This essay will analyse one of Millay’s sonnets in to context of the evolution of courtly love poetry. The history of the sonnet will also be examined to demonstrate how Millay has faithfully refashioned her poems. However, whist Millay has kept the construction of sonnet pure she has differed in the message it portraysRead MoreLove Is Not All By Edna St. Vincent Millay1217 Words   |  5 PagesThe poem I have chosen to analyze is â€Å"Love is Not All† by Edna St. Vincent Millay. This poem is very different from the normal romanticized love poems that we see today. In this piece, the poet portrays love as secondary to our physical needs because it is unable to sustain us, everything necessary for human survival doesn’t require love. The main idea for the majority of this poem is that love is unimportant. â€Å"Love is Not All† is a sonnet, meaning it is composed of 14 lines. Its structureRead MoreReview Of The Spring And The Fall By Edna St. Vincent Millay1993 Words   |  8 PagesFall† by Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the most famous poets in the early nineteenth century. She was knowns for being a spectacular American lyric poet whose personal life and verse burned meteorically through the imaginations of rebellious youth in her work during the 1920s (Poetry Foundation). Millay’s literatures consist of many unique mind set and language that brings the author and reader together, which procured the world’s attention. Many people know Millay throughRead MoreOn The Virgins, By Robert Herrick And Edna St. Vincent Millay1290 Words   |  6 PagesCarpe diem, should this idea be the sole focus of individuals in their even if it means that it will have negative impacts on their future? Poets Robert Herrick and Edna St. Vincent Millay answer this question through their own contrasting. In Herrick’s â€Å"To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time† the speaker argues that after an individual has past their youthful stage, their state of mind will gro w old and decrepit. As such should focus on â€Å"seizing the day† as much as possible. To emphasize his viewpoint