Love is Not All - Edna St. Vincent Millay
96 sats \ 5 comments \ @Taft 31 Mar BooksAndArticles
Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink again; Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; Yet many a man is making friends with death Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. It well may be that in a difficult hour, Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution’s power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, Or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would.”
--Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Love is Not All (Sonnet XXX)", from Collected Poems: Millay, Edna St. Vincent (1956).
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10 sats \ 4 replies \ @siggy47 31 Mar
So, to sum up: She liked the guy?
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @Taft OP 31 Mar
Could not give you a better answer than this:
This poem challenges the romanticized notion of love as the ultimate answer to life's problems. Millay asserts that while love provides emotional sustenance, it cannot solve practical or physical ailments. She explores the tension between love's limitations and its profound emotional impact, suggesting that even in the face of overwhelming hardship, the memory of love can provide solace and strength. Compared to Millay's other works, this poem's tone is more somber and realistic, reflecting the harsh realities of the time period. It critiques the societal tendency to over-idealize love while neglecting the importance of practical necessities for human well-being.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 31 Mar
When I read it that's how I interpreted it until the final line, when she seems to revert back to the standard "love conquers all."
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76 sats \ 1 reply \ @Taft OP 31 Mar
Probably, she is saying: If I were starving or in severe pain, I might sell your love in exchange for food or to relieve my pain. I don't think I would, but I might because love isn't everything. So, love isn't everything, but it's so precious that I would not sell it. I could, but I wouldn't.
I read it this way. Not sure if this is what she intended when she wrote the poem.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 31 Mar
We'll never know for sure, and that's good.
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