'Love Is Not All' By Edna St. Vincent Millay

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“Love is Not All (Sonnet XXX)” by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a sonnet examining the actual necessity of love. The speaker does not have a clear gender in this poem. For purposes of this analysis and explication, the speaker will be referred to as a female. The speaker uses imagery to portray situations of need and mortality, yet reminds the reader that love is not those things. The speaker uses the beginning of the poem to explain how love is not as important as physiological function, leading you toward the title “Love is Not All”, yet uses the ending of the poem to take an interesting turn. The speaker takes a more positive tone at the end when she confirms that love is most important. The idea she gives the reader is that love is not what makes us live, but love is why we choose to.…show more content…
She uses repetition of “it well may be” to provide the reader with a shadow of doubt until she closes with her last line “I do not think I would” (14), which is ultimately her point. She is not certain she would trade love for life, or to end another agony. The themes of this poem overlap. Aural representation is shown with the end rhyme. It is shown again when the speaker says “And rise and sink and rise and sink again” (4). The poem is also thematic. It focuses on the theme of love. The reader is driven to consider what love is and is not. While the speaker uses imagery and paints a visual picture at times, the poem never strays from the topic. The reader is left defining what gravity love holds to them. 2.

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