I, being born a woman and distressed by Edna st. Vincent millay

what’s the lifespan of millay

1892-1950

she and her sister (name) and (name) were raised by her single mother (name)

kathleen; Norma; cara

despite difficult financial situation, cara impressed upon her daughter the importance of (3)

refinement, self-determination, intelligence

cara encourage millay to submit to an annual competition held by the poetry publication (name) in (yr)

the lyric year; 1912

her first poetry collection name and published yr

renascence and other poems; 1917

what poem did she submit to the comp and was her breakthrough work

renascence

millay photogrpahed by (name) in (yr)

arnold gentle in 1914

what elements define millay’s writing

1) careful attention to form

2) mix both grand and common language

millay was offered scholarship to attend (school) and (school), where she took extensive courses in (blank), including (blank) and (blank), and (blank)

barnard and vassar; languages; Greek and Latin; comparative literature

moved to (place) and began to work in earnest as an (blank)

greenwich village in nyc; artist

her first poetry collection would be followed by a steady stream of (blank), (blank), (blank), (blnak), and (blank) for the next # yrs

poetry collections, opera librettos, translated volumes, short stories, poetic dramas; 20

what name did she write as for her short stories

nancy boyd

her wiring came to be associated with

new woman

to millay, what symbolized freedom in the flapper

thier bobbed hair

in what two collections did millay become a “spokesperson for the rights of women and pleasurable and courageous living”

a few figs from thistle (1920) and the harp-weaver and other poems (1923)

she became the first woman to win

the pulizter prize for poetry in 1923

died in

1950

she protested against

sacco and Vanzetti executions in 1927

she wrote (blank) poetry in the (part-decade) and (part-decade)

antifascist; late 1930s and early 1940s

she had a precise command on classical forms especially the

sonnet

when was the poem made

1923

how many lines

14

millay, like her contemporary (name), was a master of (blank) and (blank), and this poem is an example of her use of the (blank)

robert frost; meter and verse; petrarchan sonnet form

sonnet consists of how many lines

14

petarchan form

opening 8-line stanza (octet) with the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and a concluding 6-line stanza (sestet) with the rhyme scheme CDCDCD (or sometimes CDECDE). the two stanzas are separated by a volta/turn

what form rhyme scheme does Millay uses for her sestet

CDCDCD

what does volta or turn represent

shift int he thought or argument of the poem

the turn is marked by what word and when

however; middle of the 9th line

the speaker reflects on

how her identity as a woman and “all the needs and notions” that go along with it, creates nonnegotiable expectations

what are some of the expectations of the woman

1) find her male addresse “fair”

2) excited to have physical contact with him

3) overwhelmed “undone, possessed” by her desire for him

the octet contains what

a neatly organzied iambic pentameter

pentameter

5 metrical feet containing an unstressed and then stressed syllables

how does the pentameter help the poem

it allows the passage to flow without any complications or hiccups as if the speaker believes that it is in fact wholly natural and even easy to be totally consumed by her desire for a man

after the turn between the octet and sestet, there is a shift the in the speaker’s reflection. she now describes the “blank” of her “quote” or the way she

poor treason; stout blood against my staggering brain; internally resist the supposedly inevitable infatuation she must feel toward her addressee

what does she challenge

the idea that women can’t dictate the terms of their intimate relationships: the “frenzy” that is supposed to overwhelm her, and perhaps even does on occasion is not enough to carry on a meaningful romance

diff in language between the two stanzas

octet: ironically elevated language

sestet: more direct langauge

how does she use direct language in the sestet

“let me make it plain” and then dismisses the addressee in her last line by saying they will have the chance to potentially “meet again” → they will not stay together permanently

tension between octet and sestet represented two things

social expectation and personal value; mind and body

ironic language in the octet suggests

she is suspicious of which is “urged” upon her yet doesn’t deny the “frenzy” of physical desire → feeling desire is natural but being defined by it is something the speaker rejects after the volta

speaker’s main point

the supposedly wild “frenzy” she must feel for the addresses might be powerful, but it’s not binding and is something she had the power and strength to name, resist and control

picture of Millay with her head resting on her hand was taken when

1920