Dichotomy In Poems
In the early to mid-1900’s, a young poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay, released a collection of poems that won her a Pulitzer Prize. Millay, well known for her progressive, feminist views included the poem, “I, Being a Woman and Distressed”, which tells a story of a woman struggling with the expectations of women of that day and the sensual feelings that battle to control her. In this poem, Millay uses diction, tone and imagery to illustrate the dichotomy between the desires she feels and the disgust she experiences for being uncontrollably drawn to a man.
Millay’s use of diction helps the reader to feel what the narrator is feeling. Notably, words like “zest” (line 4) and “frenzy” (line 13) leave the reader with a feeling of wild excitement,
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Through her use of tone of desire, Millay is once again able to make the reader appreciate the yearning for closeness. “[F]eel a certain zest [t]o bear you body’s weight upon my breast” (line 4-5). The narrator is not shying away from her pining for a physical connection and to have sex with this man. “So subtly is the fume of life designed, [t]o clarify the pulse and cloud the mind” (lines 6-7). As the narrator proceeds, she continues to admit her craving to take what she desires now and not abstain, for life is short and the pleasures of life do not last long, like wisps of smoke. In spite of these strong reactions and desires, the narrator is not fond of the way her body forces her indulgence. In the very beginning of the poem, Millay use a sarcastic tone describing the thoughts of the narrator towards the female body that she inhabits and all of its short comings. “I, being born a woman and distressed [b]y all the needs and notions of my kind” (lines 1 & 2). It is as if she is making fun of the ideals of the 1920’s era women. The tone shifts again at the end of the poem to one of condescension and callousness. “[L]et me make it plain: I find this frenzy insufficient reason [f]or conversation when we meet again” (lines 12-14). As she departs, the narrator is sure to leave the reader feeling ambivalent towards the man she just succumbed to and Millay is able to draw the reader
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