Edna St. Vincent Millay Poem - Book Report/Review Example

In the speaker's mind this would somehow be better than hearing about his death in a private place, where reality would be more palpable, her reaction more spontaneous, thus making the loss, real and unalterable. Through the poem's imagery, the poet ventures into the deep recesses of human mind and its reactions to shock and grief. The poem succeeds in portraying a psychological need for denial in times of deep distress. This poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet.

It uses the characteristic iambic pentameter. The rhyme pattern is of the type abab/cdcd/efef/gg, wherein the first three quatrains follow the cross rhyme pattern, while both the lines of the final couplet end in rhyming words. All through, the poet uses perfect rhymes to add to the sound quality of the sonnet, using rhyming words such as "again-train"(2,4) and "filled-killed" (6,8).Even the alliterative ring of the words, "quite casual" (1) enhances the poem's rhythm. The sonnet is written in first person and is a dramatic monologue. . Thus the reader is allowed to don the role of an eavesdropper, listening in on a private conversation between the speaker and her lover.

The words, "not to return again"(2) also evoke a sense of mystery, leaving the reader wondering whether betrayal is the central theme of this poem. Once again, this notion is corrected in the following lines, "A hurrying man-who happened to be you- At noon to-day had happened to be killed" (7,8).The lines also are important in creating the sombre mood that is evident in the poem. Up until this point, the sense of mystery is sustained and the reader might question as to why the poet has opened the sonnet with a condition "If", or why the speaker is describing a hypothetical situation.

It is as yet unclear as to why the speaker here opened the conversation with, "If I should learn"(1).But from this point onwards, the poet starts wrapping up the plot, providing the answers the reader seeks, and insight to those who care to look beyond the words. The last quatrain and the concluding couplet,when considered within the total context of the poem, help the discerning reader to recognize a complex pattern of human behavior in times of grief or shock. Moreover, the lines, "I should not cry aloud-I could not cry Aloud, or wring my hands in such a place" (9,10) allow a glimpse into the speaker's sense of propriety as well as the expected social behavior, perhaps more in keeping with the poet's times than ours.

This suggests that as far as the speaker is concerned, private emotions have no place in a public place such as a subway train. The speaker is therefore forced to suppress the more spontaneous reaction of crying and "wringing her hands".Such loud