Rosa's+Analysis

Rosa's analysis for Dirge Without Music In Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem //Dirge Without Music//, the poet laments how everyone must die and also expresses how even though she understands this fact, she is still “not resigned”. This poem has a fairly simple and straightforward meaning, which is not obfuscated by complex language or obscure metaphors and references. The emotions in the poem are ones that all people can identify with. Millay creates a very accessible poem in its relatable sentiments and unintimidating language. What truly makes this poem so interesting is the beauty and eloquence in its structure and language, which will be explored in greater detailed later, and the presence of the poet’s own psyche in the poem.

There is something restless and pacing about the poem, especially because Millay repeats phrases like “I am not resigned” several times through the poem. The last line of the poem, which reads “I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.” Show the poet clearly expresses that she does not want to face up to the facts of death. Yet she still laments the facts of death with an astuteness and cutting attention to the tragedy of it which suggests that she is, in fact, resigned, like in the last stanza when she names the various virtues that are lost by death. We, as the reader, are given a glance into what seems like Millay’s confused emotions, which makes the poem even more relatable and personal. It does not seem like a contradiction for the poet to express both denial and understanding because that is often the way individuals mourn the death of someone. The emotion in the poem is strikingly honest.

As the title, “Dirge Without Music” suggests the poem is about mourning. The poem does not seem angry, but always wistful instead. Millay presents such images as “crowned/With lilies and laurel they go; but I am not resigned” (lines 3-4) which suggest a certain beauty and elegance about death. In the third stanza, the poem depicts people’s decayed bodies being used to feed the roses, which on the surface seems like a positive metaphor, but then the poet goes on to express how even though roses are beautiful and fragrant, they are nothing compared to the “light in your eyes” (line 12); which is a symbol for the soul. In this way, Millay turns around the clique of a dead body being used to feed nature’s beauty as a good thing and stubbornly insists that it is not a worthwhile sacrifice to feed the roses.

As part of the poem’s use of repetition, each stanza at one point or another seems to list the various characteristics of people which make their death so tragic, like in line 3; “Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely.” And in line 9 “The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love”. In the second stanza Millay expresses how the people will become “one with the dull, the indiscriminant dust.” (line 6) And goes on to say how they will on be “a fragment of what you felt, of what you know” (line 7) which shows the real tragedy is in loss of identity and soul in individuals when all that is left is the body.

//Dirge Without Music// is written with a ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH rhyme scheme, though many of the rhymes, such as love/approve (lines 9 and 11) are imperfect, and the rhyming pattern does not immediately become apparently to the reader, because the lines are so long. The poem is written in iambic pentameter and falls into an appealing, if not slightly sing-song rhythm. In the second stanza, the perspective changes slightly and the poet begins to address the people who die directly, saying “into the earth with you,” (line 5) almost as if she is commanding it. This again shows the confusion of the poet’s role and the paradox of both her understanding and her reluctance to face the facts of death. She does not try to distance herself from the realties of death and the darkness that ensues in this stanza, and yet she does not ever discuss her own death or use many specific details.

While this poem conveys the confusion of emotions and sentiments that surround death, it is still a beautiful and subtle creation. The language Millay uses is clear and unabrasive, with delicate metaphors and imagery. She employs repetition to make her point clearer, but it does not seem like a contrived or forced device. Overall, //Dirge Without Music// is an extremely accessible and appealing poem which states the anomaly which so many people face in an eloquent way.