Collected Sonnets [Paperback]

Edna St. Vincent Millay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 1988

More than 180 sonnets selected from Millay's books of poems -- including 20 sonnets from Mine the Harvest not contained in previous editions of her Collected Sonnets -- are brought together in this new, expanded edition.

An introduction by Norma Millay, written expressly for this volume, focuses on examples of the poet's variations in sonnet structure. Here is the voice of Millay, whose prophetic vision, devotion to freedom, and intellectual daring combine with her mastery of the sonnet form to speak eloquently for the human spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the only poets writing in English in our time who have attained anything like the stature of great literary figures." -- Edmund WilsonA

About the Author

Edna St. Vincent Millay was born in 1892 in Rockland, Maine, the eldest of three daughters, and was encouraged by her mother to develop her talents for music and poetry. Her long poem "Renascence" won critical attention in an anthology contest in 1912 and secured for her a patron who enabled her to go to Vassar College.

After graduating in 1917 she lived in Greenwich Village in New York for a few years, acting, writing satirical pieces for journals (usually under a pseudonym), and continuing to work at her poetry. She traveled in Europe throughout 1921-22 as a "foreign correspondent" for Vanity Fair. Her collection A Few Figs from Thistles (1920) gained her a reputation for hedonistic wit and cynicism, but her other collections (including the earlier Renascence and Other Poems [1917]) are without exception more seriously passionate or reflective.

In 1923 she married Eugene Boissevain and -- after further travel -- embarked on a series of reading tours which helped to consolidate her nationwide renown. From 1925 onwards she lived at Steepletop, a farmstead in Austerlitz, New York, where her husband protected her from all responsibilities except her creative work. Often involved in feminist or political causes (including the Sacco-Vanzetti case of 1927), she turned to writing anti-fascist propaganda poetry in 1940 and further damaged a reputation already in decline. In her last years of her life she became more withdrawn and isolated, and her health, which had never been robust, became increasingly poor.

She died in 1950.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; Rev Exp edition (April 13, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060910917
• ISBN-13: 978-0060910914
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #712,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection from America's greatest 20th-century poet, November 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Collected Sonnets (Paperback)

In this work of sonnets, selected for inclusion in this volume by Millay herself, the reader will find genius with heart and soul. Millay wrote many more kinds of poems than just sonnets, of course, but even when restricted to the old, old pattern of 14 lines and strict meter, she manages to convey profound and intimate thoughts on a wide variety of subjects: love, life, death, injustice, war, beauty, and the nature of humankind as a race of beings, to name a few. In this work one finds that some of the poems carry a dedication. There is a pair of sonnets written in memory of Sacco and Vanzetti who were executed in 1927; Millay records the tragedy of that injustice as she experienced it then, long before the more recent pronouncements of justice gone awry that we have heard during the past 25 years. Another sonnet of hers was read in the U.S. capitol in 1923 at the dedication of a statue of three feminist leaders who crusaded for equal rights. That same statue made the news in recent years, having been relegated to the Capitol basement on account of its weight and because of a proposal to hollow out its base so it can be replaced on the main floor. I was suprised -- and gratified -- to learn that Millay was part of its inauguration. Vincent, as her family and friends called her, held issues of justice close to her heart. Her greatest gift, I think, was the ability to write about intensely personal experiences and disclose them to the reader as common to everyone who is willing to look inward to the self. I've read other poets who have lived and worked since Millay's death in 1950 and I venture to say that we have not seen the like of her since. I wholeheartedly recommend her words to everyone because, having read them, I find myself more of a human being and more deeply committed to those things that really matter, given my ultimate mortality. --Todd Victor Leone

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful poetry, December 22, 2002

By 

Patricia R. Andersen "redheaded booklover" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Collected Sonnets (Paperback)

I've seen some collections of the "best" poetry and among others, Edna St. Vincent Millay's work is not featured. Perhaps her work is regarded as too "light weight" or perhaps structure and an ear for how a poem sounds is not as important as it once was - I don't know. But I recommend this book to help correct the lack of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry.

I think that Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the best poets ever, male or female, of any time period. So of course it would follow that I think this book is great, too.

Treat your senses to her wonderful lyrics and you will see what I mean. The sonnet form is a strict one, one that few poets master yet M's Millay makes it work so wonderfully for her.
There are love sonnets, of course - but there are just as many that have nothing to do with love. All of these sonnets are great, of course I have my favorites - read throught the book and you'll probably have your own picks, too.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Crafted Work by a Major Poet, September 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Collected Sonnets (Paperback)

Millay was a master of prosody, and her gifts are on brilliant display in this collection of her sonnets. Form and diction that have sometimes been dismissed as out-moded or affected were tools that Millay was able to use deftly and in service of deeply felt and considered experience. Her work hasn't really been given its due yet, but why wait for the academy to catch up? This is wonderful, unforgettable work.