Edna Millay And The Roaring Twenties

Women of the 1950’s through the 1960’s are ridden with male oppression and self-esteem issues. The book Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and an episode of Mad Men titled The Shoot have a lot in common. The differences and similarities between the leading women in both of these stories from the 1950’s show that times are different today. The women of the 1950’s had a dream for the future and their dream has finally become a reality for American women. From Mad Men, Betty Draper’s dream of becoming a model and in Revolutionary Road, April Wheeler’s dream of traveling the world are actual realities for women today. Their dreams show similarities, differences and the “American Dream” that every woman has.

When love is typically described, it is thought of as a joy, almost pure. Most people want to be in love. Millay, on the other hand, seems to represent passionate love as almost burdensome. When referring to the act of love itself, she describes the women she identifies with “bearing as I bear/love like a burning city in the breast” (lines 7-8). She also states “[I] Do suffer love” (line 11). The words here are all negative, in contrast to what the reader would expect. Yet, the narrator also seems to look upon this way of loving with longing. She seeks the stories of the past, “Hunt[ing] the amorous line” (line 6). This way of love is how she wants to feel, and

After World War 1, America had to demobilize and revert back to a peace time economy. During the 1920’s, it was viewed as a prosperous economy since there was a new labor force due to demobilization, new inventions, and a new infrastructure. Also moral spirits were high since America along with the Allied Powers defeated Germany and the Great War was finally over. However, America began making many economic policies and decisions that will eventually lead up to the Great Depression.

The 1920’s which was also called the Roaring Twenties was a era of economic prosperity and dramatic social change. The 19 amendment that was ratified on August 1920 gave the right of women to vote and the impact of World War I resulted in women questioning traditional morals and values, becoming rebellious. When men left for the war it caused women to have new jobs such as working in factories. Also, “the number of women attending college rose to 10% of the population by the end of the 1920's." Due to women having the opportunity to have jobs and go to college women became more mobile. The corset limited women to be mobile in this era which caused the production of coresets to quickly decline. Less women wearing corset made their figure to be more boyish and straight. The women of this era was called the Flappers, free spirited women, representing the new change of how women looked. The Flappers “lacked hips, breasts, and a defined waist”. They would dress in dresses above their knee and ankle showing more legs and having bare arms. They would also stray away from having long hair and cut their hair into a bob to symbolize freedom and independency. As a reason of women questioning traditional values they began to drink, smoke and be more sexual in this era. The 1920’s was also the age of Jazz which influenced women to go out and dance and women having more flamboyant and exuberant moves. In the 1920’s to be equal among men they had to have a figure of men,

the house becoming the homemaker once the war was over. The 1950s has also been

The Roaring Twenties of America, which was from 1920-1929, saw a great social and economic prosperity. People were happy, and were celebrating the victory of World War 1. The gasoline price was lowered, right to vote for women was granted, and America was climbing towards a great success. In 1929, Herbert Hoover became the president of the United States of America, and he said, “ Given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation”(Roark, Pg. 703). After few months of his inauguration, his words contradicted, the Roaring Twenties halted. During the Roaring Twenties, the stock market prices increased steeply. The rapid

The work of prominent feminist writer Edna St. Vincent Millay continues to hold value in the educational space, illustrating a sense of humanity and fragility through her verse. In nineteen twenty-three, she published her Italian sonnet “I will put Chaos into fourteen lines,” a powerful work that showcased her ability to command language. Millay’s sonnet chronicles her experience of pitting Chaos into that confining structure of an Italian sonnet, making the figurative cacophony mingle with Order. The sonnet emphasizes the importance of creativity through the form of chaos interacting with the limiting structure and confines of rules and limitations represented by order. I can prove this assertion through Millay’s use of personification, Italian sonnet stanza structure, and meter iambic pentameter.

The 1920s, or better known as the roaring twenties changed the lives of women in America politically, physically and mentally. Women were granted more freedom, the right to vote, changed their physical appearance, and focused on materialistic goals instead of moral values. Before World War I, women would wear a high collar, long straight skirts below the knee and long hair that was tied loosely. The roaring twenties brought along swing dancing and jazz which changed the way women dressed and danced. Not only did the roaring twenties bring along flourishing taste in music, but flappers came into play. Flappers were women who wore short sparkly dresses, cut their hair into a bob, wore heavy make-up, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and partied all night.

The 1920’s was an era of dramatic political and cultural change, where many Americans lived in cities rather than farms. Many inventors came to be noticed as new cars were invented and as music entered the entertainment industry. A new style of music was invented mainly in the African American community, creating the Harlem Renaissance; which was an evolution of music and entertainment in Harlem, New York City. The women of America began to evolve in the 1920s, adding new styles to our fashion industry and changing the way women dress, act, and are portrayed in society for generations. Women were viewed before the 1920’s as innocent housewives, that made little to no money, as they often relied on their husbands’ for income. Women also had little to no rights, such as voting rights, which many women began to protest. Women of the 1920’s through the 1930’s influenced and impacted society by transforming their looks from innocent housewives to a sexually liberated generation of women, increasing the working rate to twenty-five percent by working in factories and the telemarketing business, and participating in the Women’s Suffrage Movement in which they protested for their rights which then influenced the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Their clothes became less restricted and flowy, giving them much more freedom to move and work. Where women were once expected to have long hair, short hair was now a sign of freedom. Make-up was popular, and more available. Sales boomed thanks to advertising. In the 1920s, women smoked in public and drove cars, which were not acceptable before the war. Women had more leisure time when labour-saving inventions like vacuum cleaners and washing machines decreased their housework. If they had a car, as many did, they were no longer so bound to the home. Overall, household and domestic consumer goods became more common, and these were targeted at

The 1920s were an exciting and fascinating time in American history. An old Victorian nation had transformed into a vibrant, modernized America. Often called “The Roaring Twenties”, this time featured the famous slicked back hair, vibrant Flappers, and of course, marathon dances. From inflated economics to unprecedented invention, forces collided to produce the most explosive decade of the century.

The dawning of the 1920’s in America left a need in the citizens’ hearts to return to a state of normalcy after the devastating effects of the Great War. However, the new era of isolationism spawned a cultural revolution that can only be described as anything but “normal”. Heavy losses over seas left Americans turned off to problems occurring outside of United States borders. As the citizens’ averted their eyes from the problems of the world, they were left to focus their attention of forming the spectacular sense of moral freedom of the decade. The economy flourished as well.Wall Street became an enormous success as the introduction of credit dazzled the American people. The colossal factories which had supplied weapons and war machinery now churned out the automobiles, radios, and abundant excitement which would go on to define the era. The isolationist attitude also led away from the idea of the “whole” and people found themselves focusing on their own needs and wants, which emphasized the adolescent nature of the United States. The post-war, isolationist minds of Americans in the roaring twenties focused on the dream of total freedom as they strove towards liberation in their daily lives, and were represented by the authors of the modernist fiction era.

I want to write poems that will be meaningful( poetryfoundation.org).” This awe-inspiring quote by Gwendolyn Brooks herself shows the purpose behind her career and what anyone can accomplish if they have the drive to do so. Brooks fully fulfilled and delivered on this mantra. Her first collection of poetry A Street in Bronzeville ( released in 1945) was a great success and received many honors ( biography.com). Both of her two autobiographies took heavy criticism which Brooks vehemently refuted saying, “They wanted a list of domestic spats (poetryfoundation.org).” Writing only one novel Martha Maud, Brooks did not dabble to often in prose ( poets.org). Annie Allen , which won a Pulitzer Prize, and In The Mecca, which received a National Book Award in poetry, are her two greatest works(poets.org). The awards she acquired for her works are the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Frost Medal, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, the Shelley Memorial Award, among many others (poets.org). All of these allowed her to become a teacher and speaker of literature specifically poetry at many universities throughout her life and the Poet Laureate of both Illinois and the United States (biography.com; poets.org ). Along with these government positions came a much more political

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. It's almost as if she was a writer from today and with that, I believe that she would be comfortable with today's free America.

Women’s fashion was a social controversy in the 1920’s. This controversy was influenced by women’s clothing, swimwear, hairstyles, makeup, and attitude alone. This attire and new found character traits added a certain attitude and confidence to these women, starting what would eventually be remembered as a revolution.