Analysis of Blight
Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 (Rockland) – 1950 (Austerlitz)
Hard seeds of hate I planted
That should by now be grown,—
Rough stalks, and from thick stamens
A poisonous pollen blown,
And odors rank, unbreathable,
From dark corollas thrown!
At dawn from my damp garden
I shook the chilly dew;
The thin boughs locked behind me
That sprang to let me through;
The blossoms slept,—I sought a place
Where nothing lovely grew.
And there, when day was breaking,
I knelt and looked around:
The light was near, the silence
Was palpitant with sound;
I drew my hate from out my breast
And thrust it in the ground.
Oh, ye so fiercely tended,
Ye little seeds of hate!
I bent above your growing
Early and noon and late,
Yet are ye drooped and pitiful,—
I cannot rear ye straight!
The sun seeks out my garden,
No nook is left in shade,
No mist nor mold nor mildew
Endures on any blade,
Sweet rain slants under every bough:
Ye falter, and ye fade.
Scheme | ABCBDB EFXFCF GHCHX H AIGIDI EJFJXJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 1111110 111111 110111 0100101 01011 1111 1111110 110101 0111011 111111 01011101 110101 0111110 110101 0111010 1111 11111111 011001 1111010 110111 1101110 100101 11110100 110111 0111110 111101 111111 011101 111101001 110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 899 |
Words | 167 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 5, 1, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 153 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Blight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9351/blight>.
Discuss this Edna St. Vincent Millay poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In