Analysis of Apostrophe To Man

Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 (Rockland) – 1950 (Austerlitz)



(On reflecting that the world
 is ready to go to war again)

Detestable race, continue to expunge yourself, die out.
Breed faster, crowd, encroach, sing hymns, build
bombing airplanes;
Make speeches, unveil statues, issue bonds, parade;
Convert again into explosives the bewildered ammonia
and the distracted cellulose;
Convert again into putrescent matter drawing flies
The hopeful bodies of the young; exhort,
Pray, pull long faces, be earnest,
be all but overcome, be photographed;
Confer, perfect your formulae, commercialize
Bacateria harmful to human tissue,
Put death on the market;
Breed, crowd, encroach,
expand, expunge yourself, die out,
Homo called sapiens.


Scheme XX AXXXXXBXXXBXXXAX
Poetic Form
Metre 1010101 110111101 110101010111 110101111 1010 11001110101 1001010100010010 0001010 100101110101 0101010101 11110110 11110110 010111010 1101101 111010 1101 01010111 101100
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 664
Words 101
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 2, 16
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 268
Words per stanza (avg) 50
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

30 sec read
324

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, the third woman to win the award for poetry, and was also known for her feminist activism more…

All Edna St. Vincent Millay poems | Edna St. Vincent Millay Books

4 fans

Discuss this Edna St. Vincent Millay poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Apostrophe To Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9346/apostrophe-to-man>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    8
    hours
    21
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using "like" or "as" is called a _______.
    A simile
    B metaphor
    C hyperbole
    D personification