Customer Reviews

Collected Sonnets

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

I would submit that Edna St. Vincent Millay may be the most underrated poet in the English language.

Was she a formalist, and therefore out of vogue? Too bad. Was she a naughty girl, and therefore sent to a place less than nice when she died? More power to her; I'm sure she felt right at home.

The woman who, as an undergrad at Vassar, defied the president of the college to expel her and was told "What? "And have a banished Shelley on my doorstep?" -- and who then allegedly responded "On those terms, I think I can continue to live in this hell hole" -- was obviously not someone to be trifled with.

Cheeky? No doubt. A hellcat? She could've set the wind on fire -- then have doused the flames in a wink with wit alone.

Every one of the sonnets in this collection is a gift to the reader. This book alone is worth a year's tuition at Vassar -- and would no doubt prove more valuable to the few who may be caught there (or at Smith, Wellesley, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, or Bryn Mawr) against their will. It's too bad Radcliffe merged with Harvard only well after her death. The only wonder is that she didn't rise from the grave to stop it -- or, instead, lead the movement to have Harvard merge with Radcliffe.

I needed the book Fatal Interview for a paper, so finding this volume of Millay's Collected Sonnets was a life saver. Plus, for those who love sonnets, here is one of the best sonnet collections since Shakespeare.