summary of the poem exiled by Edna Saint Vincent millay
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HOMEWORK HELP > LOVE IS NOT ALL
What are the summary and literary theme of Edna St. Vincent-Millay's sonnet "love is not all: it is not meat nor drink"?I am writing an analytical essay on this sonnet and would like some idea as...
What are the summary and literary theme of Edna St. Vincent-Millay's sonnet "love is not all: it is not meat nor drink"?
I am writing an analytical essay on this sonnet and would like some idea as to what it is about.
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MAUDLINSTREET | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
In this sonnet, St. Vincent Millay discusses the meaning and purpose of love. I know it seems obvious (especially since most sonnets deal with that issue), but the way she approaches it is unique and striking. At first, she seems to suggest that most people think too much of love. After all, it is "not meat or drink"- it can't keep you alive. It won't save you if you're drowning, and so it cannot be what you base your existence upon. However, she quickly reverses this idea by stating that without love, one “is making friends with death.” Thus, while love can't keep you alive, without it you will almost surely die. At this point, the speaker begins to question if she would be willing to trade love for life’s necessities. Would she sell love’s memory for food? The sonnet ends with ambiguity; the speaker merely says, “I do not think I would”. There is no real certainty there.
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HOMEWORK HELP > LOVE IS NOT ALL
What are the summary and literary theme of Edna St. Vincent-Millay's sonnet "love is not all: it is not meat nor drink"?I am writing an analytical essay on this sonnet and would like some idea as...
What are the summary and literary theme of Edna St. Vincent-Millay's sonnet "love is not all: it is not meat nor drink"?
I am writing an analytical essay on this sonnet and would like some idea as to what it is about.
print Print document PDF list Cite
EXPERT ANSWERS
MAUDLINSTREET | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
In this sonnet, St. Vincent Millay discusses the meaning and purpose of love. I know it seems obvious (especially since most sonnets deal with that issue), but the way she approaches it is unique and striking. At first, she seems to suggest that most people think too much of love. After all, it is "not meat or drink"- it can't keep you alive. It won't save you if you're drowning, and so it cannot be what you base your existence upon. However, she quickly reverses this idea by stating that without love, one “is making friends with death.” Thus, while love can't keep you alive, without it you will almost surely die. At this point, the speaker begins to question if she would be willing to trade love for life’s necessities. Would she sell love’s memory for food? The sonnet ends with ambiguity; the speaker merely says, “I do not think I would”. There is no real certainty there.
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