Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay is not a name that we often hear in today’s modern world of literature and poetry. The popularity of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poetry waned after World War II and the turn of the century. Millay’s writings, however, have lasting influential effects on current American literature. Edna St. Vincent Millay has impacted American culture because of her feminist writings, including “First Fig,” her Pulitzer Prize win, and her poetry during World War II, including “The Murder of Lidice”.

Firstly, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s feminist writings have impacted American culture. Millay was a strong advocate for feminism. She was described as having “passion and womanly pride” (Felstiner 1). She was a “rebel and non-conformist” whose poetry reflected her beliefs on feminism and her fight to have equal rights (Gerstenberger 4). Her poetry represented more than just her beliefs. Her poetry also represented the “voice of eternal youth, feminine revolt, and liberation” (Gale 3). She gave women means to express their concerns and ideas. Millay became an inspiration for these women and they supported her views by buying her works. Her poetry also included the theme of individual liberty for women (Gerstenberger 5). In her poetry, Millay “explored…the predicament of women in American society” (McLean 3). She believed that women were being treated unjustly. Millay strongly believed that “a woman must have…freedom” (McLean 7). In her writings and poetry, she shows her push for equality. She believed that women needed to have “the same liberty as a man” (McLean 6). As she was writing about feminism and the freedoms needed for women, she made herself an “example of the liberated woman of the 1920s” (Gerstenberger 4).

One of Mil...

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....3 (2007): 45-48. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Gale, Robert L. "Edna St. Vincent Millay's Life." Edna St. Vincent Millay's Life. Modern American Poetry, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

Gerstenberger, Donna. "Edna St. Vincent Millay." Critical Survey Of Poetry, Second Revised Edition (2002): 1-5. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Kennedy, X.J. "Edna St. Vincent Millay's Doubly Burning Candles." New Criterion 20.1 (2001): 96. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

McLean, John L. "Edna St. Vincent Millay." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-5. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Smith, Dinitia. "Romantic Rebel of the Jazz Age; In Two Biographies, a Portrait of Edna St. Vincent Millay as Poet and Free Spirit." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Aug. 2001. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.