The first poem I am going to be analyzing is What My Lips Have Kissed, a sonnet written in the 1920’s. This poem is about numerous loves approaching a close, and the tribulations brought about by said conclusion. The main theme in the sonnet is focused on the transition that occurs in the Millay’s life; such as, the seasons changing. Edna St. Vincent Millay uses the difference between summer and winter to represent the utter contrast she goes through. Millay uses summer to correlate with a period of contentment, brightness, and affection; however, winter is used to correlate with monotonous, misery, and an emptiness. The changes in the seasons mirror the emotional state of the central figure of the narrative before and after the ménage à trois. …show more content…
“Thus in winter stands the lonely tree, nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, yet knows its boughs more silent than before”. Millay, more or less, indicates that she is the “lonely tree” and that she has solitarily endured summer and winter, while lovers, affection, and cheerful experiences have come and gone. Essentially, Millay conveys the heartache she feels using a leafless tree in the midst of winter to that formerly had ample with birds singing in harmony, which symbolize the pure enjoyment that once was.
There are a few more literary devices used in Millay’s sonnet; such as, alliteration in line one with the w’s and the i’s: “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why”. There is also imagery; for example, “And in heart there stirs a quiet pain” or “I only know that summer sang in me”. Another literary device used is symbolism, for example birds being used as a symbol for the many lovers. Millay also uses metaphors to be able to highlight upon her state of mind, such as “Thus the winter stand the lonely tree”. Although, personification seems to be Millay’s distinct literary
The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
In the poem, it seems that somebody is inside his or her dwelling place looking outside at a tree. The person is marveling at how the tree can withstand the cold weather, continuous snow, and other harsh conditions that the winter brings. Witnessed throughout the days of winter by the person in the window, the tree’s bark stays strong, however the winter snow has been able to penetrate it. The tree becomes frozen, but it is strong enough to live throughout the winter until the spring relieves its suffering. When spring finally arrives, the effects of winter can no longer harm the tree. The freezing stage is gone, and the tree can give forth new life and growth in the springtime.
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “What lips my lips have kissed and where and why,” is about being, physically or mentally jaded, and thinking back to the torrid love of one’s youth. The “ghosts” that haunt her are the many lovers of her past; she’s specifically trying to remember them all. She recalls the passion she experienced and how there was a certain feeling within herself. Millay shows this through her vivid imagery, use of the rain as a literary device and by paralleling herself with a lonely tree.
The first three stanzas of the poem focus on the content of the relationship and we see the content of it. However, there is a change. The sixth and seventh stanzas describe an event and its consequences.
As he slouches in bed, a description of the bare trees and an old woman gathering coal are given to convey to the reader an idea of the times and the author's situation. "All groves are bare," and "unmarried women (are) sorting slate from arthracite." This image operates to tell the reader that it is a time of poverty, or a "yellow-bearded winter of depression." No one in the town has much to live for during this time. "Cold trees" along with deadness, through the image of "graves," help illustrate the author's impression of winter. Wright seems to be hibernating from this hard time of winter, "dreaming of green butterflies searching for diamonds in coal seams." This conveys a more colorful and happy image showing what he wishes was happening; however he knows that diamonds are not in coal seams and is brought back to the reality of winter. He talks of "hills of fresh graves" while dreaming, relating back to the reality of what is "beyond the streaked trees of (his) window," a dreary, povern-strucken, and cold winter.
This poem holds many metaphors and symbols pertaining to how certain seasons make people feel. She compares the feeling of nature with her personal feelings of being alone after having so many lovers. In “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” Millay reminisces back to a time when she had one lover after another. She cries because she lost them all and instead of opening her heart to them and offering her love, she remained closed off and simply enjoyed the physical connections. Edna St. Vincent Millay may have imagined a speaker for this poem, but she makes it seem as if it is coming from her own personal experiences.
For each seasonal section, there is a progression from beginning to end within the season. Each season is compiled in a progressive nature with poetry describing the beginning of a season coming before poetry for the end of the season. This is clear for spring, which starts with, “fallen snow [that] lingers on” and concludes with a poet lamenting that “spring should take its leave” (McCullough 14, 39). The imagery progresses from the end of winter, with snow still lingering around to when the signs of spring are disappearing. Although each poem alone does not show much in terms of the time of the year, when put into the context of other poems a timeline emerges from one season to the next. Each poem is linked to another poem when it comes to the entire anthology. By having each poem put into the context of another, a sense of organization emerges within each section. Every poem contributes to the meaning of a group of poems. The images used are meant to evoke a specific point in each season from the snow to the blossoms to the falling of the blossoms. Since each poem stands alone and has no true plot they lack the significance than if they were put into th...
In Millay's poem " What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where and Why" she laments over lost lovers. Ironically, she is described as both fondly remembering and regretfully forgetting them. In the second and third lines, the speaker recalls the lips and arms, of the young men, that have embraced her in the past, rather than their faces, suggesting her ignorance of their identities or names. She continues, "the rain is full of ghosts tonight." (3-4) In this octave she uses raindrops hitting a windowpane to stand for the sighs of lost lovers. She also compares raindrops to ghosts as a metaphor for memories of lost lovers, whose absence she feels, though who have faded into a vague abyss. In this comparison, she also uses the windowpane to show the separation between the present and past, or a border which allows insight but not interference. She is able to look back at her past but not change anything she has done thus she can only reminisce and unfortunately only regret. She describes "a quiet pain" (6) in her heart "for unremembered lads" (6-7) emphasizing her loneliness and sorrow caused by these meaningless trysts. In the sestet Millay compares herself to a "lonely tree," (9) "with birds vanishing one by one" (10) and "boughs more silent than before." (11) The tree is an analogy for her lost chances at true love. The lack of leaves and singing birds on the boughs of the trees stand for the loss of youth and lovers. In the last few lines of the poem Millay's character realizes that nobody young desires the her, now that she has aged.
Poetry Intertextual The anthology “Lines to Time” includes a wide range of poems written by a selection of poets. What makes “Line to Time” interesting and enjoyable to read is the variety of topics and treatments the poets use to make their poetry effective. The range of poets featured in “Lines to Time” use a variety of poetic devices and writer’s techniques such as symbolism, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, tone, metaphors and humour, to effectively construct an evocative poem. Symbolism and imagery plays a large role in Gwen Harwood’s poems “Suburban Sonnet”, “Suburban Sonnet: Boxing Day” and “Father and Child”.
The first literary device that can be found throughout the poem is couplet, which is when two lines in a stanza rhyme successfully. For instance, lines 1-2 state, “At midnight, in the month of June / I stand beneath the mystic moon.” This is evidence that couplet is being used as both June and moon rhyme, which can suggest that these details are important, thus leading the reader to become aware of the speaker’s thoughts and actions. Another example of this device can be found in lines 16-17, “All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies / (Her casement open to the skies).” These lines not only successfully rhyme, but they also describe a woman who
This is a complex poem. She even began with a complex idea, love. What exactly is love? Is it a feeling, an emotion that no one has control of? Is love something you can feel or touch? Some say it is not something that you can feel or touch, but you are well aware when love touches you, because you can feel it. It is an emotion that causes pleasure and pain. In this poem, Millay is showing how complex love is. The first half is about what love cannot do. Love is not a lifesaver, shelter, or a doctor. The second half is about the power of love. Even though love is not tangible, is it as important as something that is? Millay seems to be coming from the idea that love is not everything, but it is important. A question is raised, is love necessary for survival?
The speaker uses metaphors to describe his mistress’ eyes to being like the sun; her lips being red as coral; cheeks like roses; breast white as snow; and her voices sounding like music. In the first few lines of the sonnet, the speaker view and tells of his mistress as being ugly, as if he was not attracted to her. He give...
In the first quatrain of the poem the speaker compares himself to autumn. The speaker says, “That time of year thou mayst in me behold” (1). He is seeing himself as the fall season of the year. A time of the year when nights arrive quicker and the temperature becomes cooler. When relating this season to life, it is when a person is experiencing stages of decline in their life making them closer to death. He creates an image of a tree, with leaves that have been falling with the change of season into winter. “When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang.” (2) When using the image of leaves falling from a tree and leaving it bare,
On the other side, “Love Poem” is very different from the previous poem. This seven stanza poem is based on a man describing the imperfections of his lover. In this, the speaker uses stylistic devices, such as alliteration and personification to impact more on reader, for example as the speaker shows “your lipstick ginning on our coat,”(17) ...
Renaissance poets Sidney and Spenser convey their messages with the help of the literary element symbolism. In “Sonnet 75” and “Astrophel and Stella” there is the presence of symbolism. This element is a cornerstone to these poems and helps the reader think deeper beyond the literal meanings of words, and how they represent something greater. The use of symbolism also makes the readers mind think about how the sentences state something literally, but also have a deeper meaning. If this element were not to be used, then the poems would lose some of their charisma because most sonnets have a deeper meaning to be conveyed with the use help of symbolism.