Pity Me Not Millay Analysis

The poem, “Pity Me Not,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay has a theme of heartbreak. The woman the author is writing about replays in her mind how things used to be compared to how they are now. The woman realizes things will never be like they once were and she is ready to accept that. She is heartbroken over that fact that her husband no longer loves her anymore but instead of asking for sympathy, she says do not pity me.

In the beginning of the poem written by Millay, she talks about the changes between the woman's past and present, “pity me not for beauties passed away/from field and thicket as the year goes by” (Lines 3-4). These two lines are meant to show that the wife knows her husband no longer sees her as a beautiful wife, but she does not want anyone to feel bad for her because each year that goes by, she ages and that is something she can not stop from happening. This is the first sign that she is heartbroken but too humble to let other people feel her pain.

A few lines later in the poem Millay explains what is already assumed by the reader, “Nor that a man’s desire is hushed so soon,/and you no longer look with love on me” (7-8).

The spouse does not desire to be with his wife anymore. He does not look at her the way he once did when he loved her. Instead of looking at her like she is the love of his life, he now looks

These last two lines in the poem prove that she still feels guilty for her broken heart, however she is done trying to stay strong and humble through it all. She needs others to feel for her while her heart aches. She says that she knew that the love between them would be no more. Her mind told her so but her heart needed to learn on its own time. She was so in love with the man, she could not let herself believe what her mind was already telling