Essay #3 : "I, Being Born a Women and Distressed"
             The poem "I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed" by Edna St. Vincent exudes many different tones through out the poem. The poem dips into the psyche of a woman who is broken hearted over a fleeting lover. The tone of this poem can be broken up into two parts. The first part relays the poet's confusion for the way society forces women to be dependent on men. The last part portrays a woman who forgives the heartbreaker for his pitfalls and takes it upon herself to deal with her inner most feelings independently.
             This poem is directed toward a male who has broken the poet's heart. Yet she doesn't blame the lover for his actions. The first five lines of the poem, Millay drones on about how society has instilled in the mind of women that every woman should have a male companion. In the first five lines, her tone is of hopelessness for society because they have such a strong opinion in every individual woman's life. "I'm urged by your propinquity to find Your person fair, and feel a certain zest to bear your body's weight upon my breast:" In these lines she conveys that society expects her to rely and her male companion and find honor in belittling herself for his pleasure. She also conveys how society effects the thinking of females when searching for a mate. The want and obtainment of a companion can sometimes "clarify the heart and cloud the mind," making women choose mates not for the sake of love, but to appease their insecurities.
             The tone in the second part of the poem has a drastically different tone. The tone is of a very sarcastic nature. Simply, Millay assures the lover that she will not hold a grudge against him, yet at the same time makes it know that the relationship didn't mean much in the first place. This tone is very prudent is because she refers the their relationship as "treason" and "frenzy". These two words portray the
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