Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyric poet whose work is incredibly popular. She is remembered for her highly moving and image-rich poems that spoke on subjects close to the hearts of many readers. Explore Edna St. Vincent Millay’s best poems here.
She won the Pulitzer Prize for Best Volume of Verse in 1922. Her most famous poem is ‘Renascence.’ Read more about Edna St. Vincent Millay.
‘A Dirge Without Music’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a beautiful dirge. The poet uses clear and lyrical language to describe how lovers and thinkers alike go into the darkness of death with a little remaining.
‘Ashes of Life’ tells of a speaker who has lost all touch with her own ambitions and is stuck within the monotonous rut of everyday life.
‘Elegy Before Death’ is a poem about the physical and spiritual impact of a loss and how it can and cannot change one’s world.
‘First Fig’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a well-loved and often discussed poem. In it, readers can explore a symbolic depiction of sexuality and freedom.
‘God’s World’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the wonders of nature and the value a speaker places on the sights she observes.
‘I, Being born a Woman and Distressed’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay encourages women to walk away from emotionally turbulent relationships.
Journey’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes a speaker’s desire to live a life experienced on an open path, and filled with natural wonder.
‘Oh, oh, you will be sorry for that word!’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a powerful poem about a woman’s decision to assert her independence.
‘Ragged Island’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a personal poem about Millay’s days spent on Ragged Island off the coast of Maine. It explores the peace of mind the place was able to bring out in her.
‘Recuerdo’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay tells of a night the speaker spent sailing back and forth on a ferry, eating fruit and watching the sky.
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s ‘Renascence’ is a moving poem. The poet explores themes of suffering, time, rebirth, and spirituality.
‘Sorrow’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a lyric poem written about a speaker’s depression. The short piece is filled with evocative depictions of what feeling all-encompassing sorrow is like.
‘Spring’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is an interesting poem that takes an original view on spring. It criticizes the season and all it brings with it.
‘Still will I harvest beauty where it grows’ is a lovely poem in which readers are asked to appreciate the world on a deeper level.
‘Tavern’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a beautiful, short poem that speaks to one person’s desire to take care of others.
‘The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay depicts the lengths mothers will go to in order to protect their children. The speaker recalls watching his mother sacrifice herself for him when he was a young boy, weaving an enormous pile of clothing with a harp.
‘The Buck in the Snow’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the power of death to cross all boundaries and inflict loss on even the most peaceful of times.
‘The Penitent’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the internal turmoil of a narrator who wants to feel sorrow for a sin she has committed.
‘Time does not bring relief; you all have lied’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay tells of an emotionally damaged woman, seeking relief from heartbreak.
‘Travel’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay speaks of one narrator’s unquenchable longing for the opportunity to escape from her everyday life.
‘What My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why’ is an Italian sonnet about being unable to recall what made one happy in the past.
‘Wild Swans’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay tells of a speaker’s desperation to get out of her current physical and emotional space and find a bird-like freedom.