The opening octet seems to describe all of the features of the lover and how they will al fade away in death. The sestet puts a sudden shift in the poem, however, using lighter imagery though not taking a lighter tone, and possibly indicating that the speaker is lamenting their own death, and referring to their own body in the first half. The shift in a sonnet is called the volta, and is another standard feature of the sonnet (Baldick, 1990). Usually in an Italian sonnet, however, the octet presents a problem or question, and the sestet solves or answers it. In this poem, the sestet adds a complication to the problem set in the octet -- not only is the object of death in question (i.e. speaker or lover), but the sestet also attests that love will not conquer death, either. In this poem, Millay not only veers from the traditional use of the English sonnet, she does not even adhere to the conventions of the less traditional form she ahs chosen. Her poems...
This is an interesting device because it indicates the author was looking at every aspect of the poem and thought long and hard about how to use words to convey meaning, emotion, and loss. In contrast, Parks does not worry about rhyme; he simply uses meter and the rhythm of the words to convey meaning and emotion. Millay speaks about her mother throughout the poem, but Parks only uses three
Additionally, the power of this poem is that it is universal; rather than being about two specific lovers, it is about romance and indirect -- the trials and tribulations of what lovers might expect: "Love is not all; it is not meat nor drink." Directly after this we are given to a wild oceanic storm, and can picture a man in the sea who is desperately struggling to survive against
Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is Not All" Scansion and Analysis Edna St. Vincent Millay utilizes a traditional sonnet form in "Love is Not All" that is reminiscent of a Shakespearean sonnet, with an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme. It also contains a "turn," in that the argument that the poet appears to be making throughout the first half of the poem is suddenly turned in a different and unexpected manner
E. women) (Millay 1611, lines 4, 2). But although the first and most commonly used definition of zest is "keen relish; hearty enjoyment; gusto," the word can also refer to "liveliness or energy; animating spirit" (dictionary.com). Taken this way, the seemingly passive and accepting sexuality seen in the beginning of he poem is disingenuous and even coy. This interpretation is borne out by another structural details of the poem --
Love Poem John Frederick Nims and "Love Poem" John Frederick Nims was a poet who was both prolific (he published eight books of poetry (Famous Poets)) and well-regarded (earned such awards as the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature (Famous Poets)). The amount of poetry and the awards one receives are not marks of greatness alone, but the quality of the poetry is. Of course, one might assume that
Sonnet Analysis The Quality of Beauty, Love, and Sonnets Sir Thomas Wyatt's sonnet "How the Lover Perisheth in His Delight as the Fly in the Fire" describes how love, passion, and/or beauty can be all-consuming and self-destructive. The poet uses a long-running metaphor of birds as a substitute or symbol for male lovers generally and the speaker of the poem specifically, while the sun is the female lover and possessor of great
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