Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay Poems

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

‘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

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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.

First Fig

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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

‘God’s World’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the wonders of nature and the value a speaker places on the sights she observes.

Grown-up

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay is known for poems like ‘Ashes of Life,’ ‘I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed,’ and

Journey

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

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. 

Ragged Island

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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

‘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.

Renascence

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

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

‘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

‘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.

Tavern

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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. 

Travel

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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.

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,

I have forgotten, and what arms have lain

Under my head till morning; but the rain

Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh

Wild Swans

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

‘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. 

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