Edna St Vincent Millay

Analysis of “Love Is Not All” by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet “Love Is Not All” describes love unlike other sonnet’s by great poetics. It does not intially portray love as a universal feeling of magnitude felt by all. It is as orindary and unimportant as many objects that are taken for granted in this age. Although love can never be forgotten or traded in for ones life it is still of importance in this sonnet. These ideas are described with help of figurative language and the conventions of the Shakepearean sonnet with some minor alterations.

In the first octave of “Love Is Not All”, Millay shows that love is arbritrary, it is not food or water, and it will not save a drowning man from death or give one air to breath, it is mearly an emotion that conquers all others and makes everything else absolete. This poem uses indirect theme and abrupt change in message to add more emphasis to the meaning of the poem. By beginning the poem with an image that cont

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I do not think I would” simply states the message. Though, one could never replace love for something of value or for ones life because love is in essance a necesity. To make the the last line stand out with emphasis, Millay employs inconsistent line structure and rhyme scheme in addition to the theme change. The use of figurative speech earlier in the sonnet to state the opposing thought makes this line more memorable and powerful. Love will not refresh you or protect you from the elements, as it is not “slumber nor a roof against the rain. The final line, however, is very simple. rasts the main theme, Millay is able to inflict a more vivid impression on the reader. ” She then relates love to “a floating spar to men that sink,” stating that it will not support you in times of disaster. This line does not fit into the rhyme scheme of the sonnet, either. Lines one through twelve follow the standard scheme of abab. It contains single syllable words, and uses no figurative language.

The perspective change of the sonnet occurs at the end of the octave and reverses the ordinace of love to be of something great, that people value love above their own lives. These techniques combi!

ne with the change in message to embed the theme deep into the reader’s mind. Lines thirteen and fourteen, however, do not rhyme.

Approximate Word count = 665
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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