Millay
uses the traditional, tight structured sonnet form to great effect,
appropriately presenting the traditional Shakespearean theme of unrequited,
anguished love in three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming abab cdcd
efef gg.
Interestingly,
the form is also Petrarchan as the sonnet can be divided into an octave and a
sestet as well, thus creating a striking universality. The absence of a title
also makes the poem universal, allowing us to relate to and interpret in our
way.
The opening is deceptive—an assertive statement, showing control, that gradually gives way to resignation and despair.
The first three quatrains stress upon change and transience being natural phenomena, but the use of anaphora and negatives foreground something more—some dilemma that deserves pity.
The
language and imagery masterfully connect love with nature, in their beauty,
vulnerability, and destructive power. A poignant sense of passing time and of
grief is created through the images: Sunset reminds her of the warmth of love
that turns cold; all beauty fades with aging, the waning moon symbolizes the
loss of passion, and the ebbing tide is a reminder of how the heart is eroded
like the shore.
She
comes to the human, more personal and pitiful condition, explicitly linking
nature and love in the last two lines of the octave:
Nor that a man's desire is hushed so soon
And you no longer look with love on me
But
the death of a man's desire is again seen as a natural part of life—we see
resignation, acceptance, "That have I known always". Thus wonder and
suspense is evoked: if the end of love is natural and predictable what is the
conflict, the problem?
A
tonal shift marks the Volta, the words and images turn violent, reflecting an
emotional storm, pain and grief: the gales and the assailing tide of passion
wash away all love, leaving behind emotional wreckage. The violent, destructive
force of love could only be captured in terms of nature.
The
final couplet, as per tradition, states the conflict, tying up all the elements
of the poem—the tone becomes pleading as the speaker moves from her rational
mind to her emotional heart:
Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
When the swift mind beholds at every turn.
The
speaker is torn between the heart and mind; she asks for pity because the heart
still feels the pain. This ruthless self-examination is what makes the sonnet
so memorable.
The
lyrical style is appropriate and effective highlighting the personal and
creating realism and authenticity, though the conflict is universal.
The
tight structure, regular rhyme scheme, and the simple present tense emphasize
the repeated grief depicted through the cyclical force of Nature that has been
used as an extended metaphor for the cycle of love.
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