Edna St. Vincent Millay's Travel

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

    I chose to compare and contrast two women authors from different literary time periods.  Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) as a representative of the Victorian age (1832-1901) and Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) as the spokeswoman for the Modernist (1914-1939) mindset.  Being women in historical time periods that did not embrace the talents and gifts of women; they share many of the same issues and themes throughout their works - however, it is the age in which they wrote that shaped their expressions of these themes.  Although they lived only decades apart their worlds were remarkably different - their voices were muted or amplified according to the beat of society's drum.

There are many female writers, some known better than other. Female writes most of the time focused their stories in experiences or personal point of view on what is going on around them. Other women write fiction of unusual worlds and character that people can relate to with the struggle or experiences. Margaret Atwood the “Canadian nationalist poetess is a prominebt figure concerned with the need for a new language to explore relations between subjects and society“ (Omid, Pyeaam 1). Atwood wrote her first novel called, “The Edible Woman”; this first novel categorized her as feminist, based on the main character of a strong woman. In an interview with Emma Brockes, Atwood affirms, "First of all, what is feminism? Second, which branch of

I n the Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin gives us the feeling that Mrs. Mallard is unhappy in the by telling us “she was presses down by physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul” (227). We learn right off that Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition and should be treated tenderly. When she heard the news of her husbands death, she was at first upset and distraught. She did not begin to feel better until she had time to sit and think, with “the delicious breath of rain was in the air” (227). Mrs. Mallard felt lonely and did not know what to do with herself anymore. She realized that there would no longer be someone there with her to be there when her life expired. She often had the feeling that life was too long and that the end would never come for her. That was a sign that Mrs. Mallard was a lonely and isolated woman. She was sitting there in the chair when it came to her in a sudden rush. That she is “Free! Body and soul free” (228). Mrs. Mallard knew then that life was not short after all. Life was short and she should live it to the fullest. She is now free to do as she pleases. Mrs. Mallard has a feeling of freedom, freedom form the loneliness and isolation that she has felt for a very long time. She is now free to be herself

Her writings caused her to be met with great criticism. Her brother in-law told people that she wrote her poems when she would have been sleeping. He told people this because it was greatly frowned upon to do things for yourself when you should be taking care of your family. When looking at her works through a gender criticism lenz, her works have many feminine elements. Anne is a mother and writes of her love for her children. She never says anything hateful and just comes across as sweet and genuine. Gender criticism gives her work that much more meaning knowing what she had to defy to do it.

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.

Ever since the days of World War I, women have been seen as second rate to men. They had to live up to many social standards that men didn’t have to and had strict guidelines on how to live their lives. This all changed when modernism deliberately tried to break away from Victorian Era standards in which women were subjugated to a lot more scrutiny. Ezra Pound, who was a large figure in the modernist movement, captured the spirit of the era in his famous line “Make it new!” Consequently, many writers started to experiment with many different and wild writing styles, which led to the short stories and poems we have today. The stories The Wife of His Youth and Mrs. Spring Fragrance were all written in this era of modernism. While they are written in a more traditional style of writing, both these stories have strong implications on feminism from the viewpoints of both male and female writers.

Arguably, poetry could be considered one of the biggest mediums artists use to express themselves to an audience. Everyday, radio stations play hundreds of poems to listeners who feel direct connections to what they hear. A great poet can write a piece, while never having met it’s reader, that poem will leave the reader feeling as if it were written for them. Pulitzer Prize Winner Carolyn Kizer, wrote poems that connected with millions of women during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. During a time, when women were not to be taken seriously, she was considered one of the first feminists and spread her messages to readers from all walks of life.

Marianne Moore, “Poetry” is dated 1921, but the poem has a view point that leaves too many variables for a reader to gain any ground of understanding. It was very confusing to try to figure out the port was trying to express through this poem. This was a very interesting poem, because the poet is expressing her feeling on what real poetry is. On one hand, she dislikes the view of point of poetry then on the other hand she seems to declare its location as something that is original or authentic. This poem really exposed the theme to the nature of mankind. Then she tries to broaden an understanding of poetry through the use of animal behavior and human emotions.

The poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” is quite compelling though a bit baffling at first glance. The writer of this poem is Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose an American poet and playwright. Millay was born in Maine into a poverty-stricken family. Her mother was a fan of classic literature varying from William Shakespeare to John Milton and would read these poets’ works to her daughters. Ultimately, inspiring Millay into becoming a poet herself. In 1923, Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry being the third female to win this award. In the poem, “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, an explanation of the poem’s meaning, form, and pattern will be made in order to understand this writer’s work.

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.

Emily Dickinson is the creator of some of the most famous works in American poetry. Throughout the 1800s, the author dedicated her life to poetry. She used metaphors in an advanced way and displayed power through her unique use of diction. Emily’s immense power with words derived from her determination. Dickinson’s determination to achieve individuality and power is exemplified through her complex poetry and derived from the events that occurred in her life.

The theme of freedom and independence is also present when Josephine tries to coax Mrs. Mallard out of her room, fearful that she is hurting herself and making herself ill. Mrs. Mallard retires to her room to be alone and to think about everything her sister told her. She begins to daydream about her new life and what it could be like. Chopin says, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (237). While Mrs. Mallard sits in her room, she begins to feel something that she has never felt before in her life. She feels free, and she adores that feeling. She no longer has to rely on her husband or think about what he will say to her because he is no longer in her life. In an article by Tseng it says, “The most interesting part of the story depicts the heroine’s experience of ecstasy while contemplating her newfound life of freedom” (29). While she is in her room, she dreams of what her life will be like now that she has her own life and independence. It is when Mrs. Mallard begins to acquaint herself with this freedom that her dreams suddenly come to a halt.

However, many women did not have the courage to stand up for themselves, and kept living miserable, and boring lives. They were not allowed to voice their opinions, or have any rights. The main character, Edna, portrays the motherly woman, who does not like the tasks society has deemed acceptable for women. Moreover, as Edna begins to become free she is more rebellious and begins to question everything. According to “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “ It is the story of a woman of one race and class who is able to dream of total personal freedom because an important piece of that highly individualistic ideal… has been brought to her.” This means that this novel follows the theme of many other works of literature, in that a heroine is trying to seek free control because she knows she can obtain freedom. Women’s roles play a key factor to the feminism shown throughout the novel.

“This is the story of a little girl with a powerful mother who instilled in her the powerful mother who instilled in her the values of hard work and honesty.” D Audrey Hepburn’s mother shaped her to be hardworking in life, put others before herself, and inspired others everywhere. Even though her early life was tough, her rise to fame was slow, and she had many setbacks, she reached many achievements and left a full, rich legacy. Audrey Hepburn inspired thousands, not only through her acting, but through her perseverance and character.