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When reading literary works, as a reader one tries to understand why an author chose’s a certain subject. Also, why the author conveys the information of his or her literature in a particular way. An author’s literary works are generally influenced by aspects of his or her life. This allows the author’s poem, short story, or novel to transcend, the just another poem, novel, or short story title, and create a major impact in the literary world. Author’s generally write about what they know and experience. The same is evident for Edna St. Vincent Millay, a beloved poet of the early twentieth century. There is a strong connection of between Millay’s personal life and how it influenced her poetry. As a feminist Edna St. Vincent Millay’s upbringing …show more content…
Vincent Millay was born February 22, 1892, in Rockland, Maine. She was the oldest child of Henry Tolman Millay and Cora Buzzelle Millay. Even as a young girl, Millay showed excellence when it came to creative expression. Millay began writing poetry at the age of four. Due to her father’s gambling problem, her parents divorced when she was seven years old. She and her two younger sisters were then raised by their mother. Cora Millay was extremely invested in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s intellectual and artistic development. Cora was the driving factor to encourage Millay to pursue music and poetry. Norman A. Brittin, author of the biographic novel, Edna St. Vincent Millay, states, “[A] woman independent enough to separate from her husband… and she was so zealous of her children’s development… she saw to it that they had books, music lessons, and incentive to express themselves and to excel” (Brittin 21). Cora Millay’s decision to separate from her husband was not ideal during the time period, but it was necessary. Millay’s mother did her best to provide for her children. Although Edna St. Vincent Millay did not grow up with much, this allowed for her to learn self-reliance. Many people have written about Edna St. Vincent Millay’s mother’s involvement in her life, on the other hand, not much is said about her father. Henry Tolman Millay was a very charming man, but due to his inability to manage money, the family lost everything. Although Edna St. Vincent Millay was …show more content…
Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “If I Should Learn, in Some Quite Casual Way”, one can see an unemotional side of Millay. This sonnet is clearly about one of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s affairs. In the poem, the speaker is testing her feelings toward her lover, by imagining a scenario in which the lover dies. Edna St. Vincent Millay’s brief affair with Arthur Davison Ficke, transcribes into this piece of literature. Dr. Holly Peppe, a former professor and director of the English department at the American College of Rome states, “In one of Millay’s sonnets written for Ficke, “Into the Golden Vessel of Great Song,” she proposes that they use their love as inspiration for poetry rather than enjoy commonplace carnality” (Peppe 16). Millay was not in love with Ficke, rather she just enjoyed the creativity that came from being with him. As well as in the poem, the speaker is not in love with her lover, because she declares that she will not feel anything if he were to
“Who am I?” is the question raised by Gwen Harwood in her poem, ‘Alter Ego’. Gwen Harwood’s poems explore societal positions and expectations of women in the 1950s which are derived from her own experiences. Though most of her poems have an underlying theme of grief, loss, love and the passing of time, which is explored through her reflecting on her childhood, some are also about self-discovery. ‘Alter Ego’ and ‘The Glass Jar’ are two examples of poems about self-discovery. The 1950s wasn’t the greatest era for female creativity, might it be art or literature which is why most artists and writers sold their material under male pseudonyms as did Gwen Harwood.
Unlike the other women of Victorian society, Edna is unwilling to suppress her personal identity and desires for the benefit of her family. She begins “to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (35). Edna’s recognition of herself as an individual as opposed to a submissive housewife is controversial because it’s unorthodox. When she commits suicide it’s because she cannot satisfy her desire to be an individual while society scorns her for not following the traditional expectations of women. Edna commits suicide because she has no other option. She wouldn’t be fulfilled by continuing to be a wife and a mother and returning to the lifestyle that she...
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “What lips my lips have kissed and where and why”
When Edna felt dissatisfied with the life she is given, she pursues other ways in which to live more fully. She attempts painting and enters into an affair with another man. As her desire for freedom grows, she moves out of her husband’s house and tries to live life as she sees fit. She lives a life reflecting her new philosophies towards life, philosophies that are in conflict with that of society. The oppression by man caused Edna to have a social awakening, illuminating the meaning of the novel.
Edna St. Vincent Millay grew up in a small town in Maine. She was always encouraged by her mother to pursue her writing and musical talents. She finished college and moved to New York City where she lived a fast pace life pursuing acting and play writing. Her liveliness, independence, and sexuality inspired her writing styles and gave her poetry a freshness that no others had. She is famous for writing sonnets like “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why.” 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.
By reading The Awakening, the reader gets a sense of what the life of a Creole woman is like. In actuality, though, it is not until reading the etiquette books, Chopin’s biographical information, and essays about the treatment of women at the time that there can be a deeper understanding of the rules Edna is breaking.
how quickly women succumb to their "roles", and how easily people can. be shaped to consider a different and all too meaningless set of morals. The sexy of the sexy. Edna is strategically alienated in the novella so as to be the
In the end, her internal conflict tears her apart and, to escape the feeling of entrapment, she drowns herself. Edna’s internal journey reflects the struggles of women during the Victorian era, as well as the meaning of the novella as a whole. Gender roles of the time confined women to living as married housewives with children. These limitations and expectations were a seemingly pressing issue for Chopin and other women of her time. Edna’s journey also highlights the importance of finding oneself apart from their duties.
When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.
We are told there are days when she "was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with sunlight.." On such days Edna "found it good to be alone and unmolested." Yet on other days, she is molested by despondencies so severe that "...
Though these two explanations provide equal merit, they are too different for the reader to come to any fully supported conclusion of the novel. On one hand the main character is a strong independent artist who refuses conformity. On the other, the main character is a basket case and the nature of her awakening is complete self absorbed. It seems likely that the author intended to create juxtaposition in the two different interpretations of Edna’s character
Influenced by the style of “plainspoken English” utilized by Phillip Larkin (“Deborah Garrison”), Deborah Garrison writes what she knows, with seemingly simple language, and incorporating aspects of her life into her poetry. As a working mother, the narrator of Garrison’s, “Sestina for the Working Mother” provides insight for the readers regarding inner thoughts and emotions she experiences in her everyday life. Performing the daily circus act of balancing work and motherhood, she, daydreams of how life might be and struggles with guilt, before ultimately realizing her chosen path is what it right for her and her family.
Although Edna was not the ideal mother in the Creole society, she still deeply cared for her children and knew that her actions determined the fate of their lives. She was not willing to give up the future of what she admired for her own peace of mind. In Chapter 16, Edna tells Madame Ratignolle, “‘I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself”, demonstrating that even if she were to give up her life, her personal ideals would still remain. The stress of the Creole society taught her that her actions would affect her loved ones and she knew that she had to sacrifice her life in order to keep her happiness. It was extremely important for mothers to take care of their children. However, for Edna, when her children were away at their grandmother’s home, “their absence was a sort of relief... It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her” (p. 21). Her mindset of her children contradicted those of the Creole women, more deeply expressing her seclusion from their society and giving her another reason to search for a way out. The meaning of a work as a whole was unveiled after she found her way out. The suicide allowed her to save what was most important to her: her place as a female in a strict
Barnes, Jessica. "Edna St. Vincent Millay's "I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed": A Deeper Look." Universal Journal. Universal Journal, 31 Oct. 2005. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
There is no doubt that the literary written by men and women is different. One source of difference is the sex. A woman is born a woman in the same sense as a man is born a man. Certainly one source of difference is biological, by virtue of which we are male and female. “A woman´s writing is always femenine” says Virginia Woolf