Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poem Analysis

n the early to mid-1900’s, a young poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay, released a poetry collection that won her a Pulitzer Prize. Millay, well known for her progressive, feminist views included the poem, “I, Being a Woman and Distressed”. This piece tells a story of a woman struggling with the expectations of women of that day and the sensual feelings that are a part of her human body. Millay uses diction, tone, and imagery to illustrate the dichotomy between the desires she feels and the disgust she experiences for being uncontrollably drawn to a man and being expected to give up all her control to him.
Millay’s use of diction indicates the conflicting feelings of pleasure and loathing the speaker is experiencing. Notably, words like “zest” (4) and “frenzy” (13) reveals a feeling of wild excitement, while words such as “possessed” (8) and “staggering” (10) emphasize the feeling of complete loss of control. In contrast to these feelings, Millay’s use of words like “undone” (l8) and “insufficient”
The phrase, “[I] [a]m urged by your [closeness] to find / Your person fair, and to feel a certain zest / To bear your body’s weight upon my breast” (3-5), depicts a woman who is so uncontrollably attracted to this man that she is coveting sex with him. She is simply unable to resist. On the other hand, in line 12, the phrase “let me make it plain” is in direct opposition of her earlier inability to say no; the speaker is able to firmly decide what is best for herself. It casts to mind an image of an empowered woman, standing over this man in bed, announcing to him that this is just a one night stand. These conflicting images further display the disconnect between how the speaker feels and how she wants to feel; they help to frame the picture of a strong, independent woman stuck in a world that still views her as weak and