Essay Questions

The poem “I, Being Born a Woman” was written in 1923. How it is representative of Millay’s reputation as a fiercely independent “modern” woman?

Fearlessly written in the first-person and thus naturally drawing a parallel between poet and speaker in the reader’s mind, Millay works against the conventions of the sonnet as the premier form of love poetry. It is a dramatic monologue spoken by a woman to a lover (intended by conventions of the time to be presumed a man) immediately after congress. Rather than gushing about love or even satiated lust, however, it is a dismissal of love leading to the then-shocking final lines in which “frenzy” is a euphemism for intercourse:

"—let me make it plain:

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

For conversation when we meet again."

Many critics contend that reading a Millay poem out loud intensifies the experience. What clues does the poet provide in “The Courage That My Mother Had” underscore this premise?

As anyone who detests poetry on general principles can attest, the rules of punctuation in verse do adhere to quite the same standards as when used in prose. Many very famous poems include little or not punctuation at all, in fact. With this in mind, it is always good advice to notice when a poet chooses precise and specific punctuation marks diverging from simple commas and periods. In twelve lines comprising the three stanzas that make up “The Courage That My Mother Had” Millay uses three commas, three periods, two colons, two semi-colons, one exclamation mark and one dash. Such precision in verse is akin to stage directions in play. The punctuation informs the reader on the intended emotional tenor by guiding them toward appropriate pauses and inflection. Just as a period indicates a slightly longer pause than a comma, so is there a subtle indication of differentiation between a full colon and a semi-colon. Such subtlety can only be fully appreciated and understood when the words are spoken.

Edna St. Vincent Millay trafficked regularly in irony long before irony became the de facto perspective of creative expression. How is “Spring Song” a definitive example of her ironic sensibility?

Poems about spring are typically celebratory; they exalt the passing of winter the resurrection of lifeless trees and fields of flowers. Millay’s ironic reversal is, appropriately, an ironic exultation of what spring no longer brings in the face of the concrete jungle of 20th century American life:

“They said to Spring: No parking here!”

Immediately following this warning that there isn’t going to be a Spring, the speaker admits that the season arrived on time like it always has before with forsythia blooming and kids waking up from slumber with eyes bright in anticipation of playing outside in the warm sun. But in the modern world, spring can make it all the way to its resting place in June without any sign of new growth in the city. By the final lines, the bitterness of the irony has set it:

“Oh, well,—hell, it's all for the best.
She certainly made a lot of clutter,
Dropping petals under the trees,
Taking your mind off your bread and butter.”

Some critics suggest that a sort of reversal takes place in the closing couplet, seeing within it a hint of optimism that probably isn’t really there. But after the devastation in all the lines which precede, perhaps it is natural to find a little daylight wherever one can. Still, the irony is so stolidly Millay-esque that it has to be fully admitted one can find something to smile about only with great effort:

“We shall hardly notice in a year or two.
You can get accustomed to anything.”