Hearing+your+words,+and+not+a+word+among+them

=Hearing your words, and not a word among them= Edna St. Vincent Millay

Hearing your words, and not a word among them Tuned to my liking, on a salty day When inland woods were pushed by winds that flung them Hissing to leeward like a ton of spray, I thought how off Matinicus the tide Came pounding in, came running through the Gut, While from the Rock the warning whistle cried, And children whimpered, and the doors blew shut; There in the autumn when the men go forth, With slapping skirts the island women stand In gardens stripped and scattered, peering north, With dahlia tubers dripping from the hand: The wind of their endurance, driving south, Flattened your words against your speaking mouth.

=__Notes__= Gale, Robert. Edna St. Vincent Millay's Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. []. - Leeward **-** On or toward the side to which the wind is blowing - Matinicus Rock **-** Name of an island off the coast of Maine - Dahlia - any kind of flower or plant having tuberous roots and showy, rayed, variously colored flower heads. - Tubers - a swollen, fleshy, usually underground stem of a plant bearing buds from which new plant shoots arise. - Abbie Burgess: maintained the Matinicus Rock Lighthouse for several weeks while her father was on the mainlands, detained by storms, and her mother was sick. Millay may have lived with this legend when she was growing up as a child in Knox County and might have revived this story. - Mantinicus Rock: Island off the coast of Maine located within Millay's county in Maine. It is known to have unpredictable and harsh weather with sudden hurricanes occurring from June to October. In Millay's poem, she refers to Mantinicus and the various aspects behind these violent storms "... the tide came pounding in, came running through the Gut, While from the Rock the warning whistle cried, and children whimpered, and the doors blew shut". - Mantinicus Gut - Channel located near Mantinicus Isle where fishing boats go out to capture lobster. - All lines except 3 have 10 syllables and follow the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG - Elizabethan sonnet - Iambic pentameter - Seems more fluid and smooth rather than choppy. - Alliteration "warning whistle"; "slapping skirts"; "stripped and scattered" - Repetition: "//came// pounding in, //came// running through the Gut" - Rhyme Scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and Iambic pentameter - Motif: wind - Simile:"hissing to leeward like a ton of spray" - Metaphor: "wind of their endurance" He is leaving her: "the men go forth" and "with slapping skirts the island women stand...peering north" She'll start her life over and stay strong even once he's gone: "with dahlia tubers dripping from the hand" and "the wind of their endurance...flattened your words against your speaking mouth" (Tanya) Analysis 1
 * Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950) -** Born in 1892 in Rockland, Maine, Millay grew up with a hardworking mother, who was trying to support her kids after her father left the family. Despite their poor life, Millay's mother encouraged her kids to read the works of John Milton and William Shakespeare (thus influencing her to write Elizabethan sonnets in iambic pentameter) and to become more independent. Millay eventually wrote the poem "Renascence" and published it in //The Lyric Year// anthology in high school, which helped her rise to fame as a poet. In 1923, she published //The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems// that won her the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, making her the first woman ever to win the award. After having many romantic relationships with various men, Millay finally settled down and married Eugen Jan Boissevain. Much of her poetry has been known to advocate feminism, sexually-open relationships amongst women, and eternal youth.
 * Source**
 * Title-** "Hearing your words and not a word among them" implies that there was some sort of conflict between two people where one person despises the other person. One person seems to ignore what the other person is trying to tell this person.
 * Unfamiliar Words**
 * Historic Events**
 * Sound Devices/Patterns-**
 * Literary Devices-**
 * Tone-** This poems tone seems to be very somber and rather sad. The entire poem seems to reflect the idea of losing something or someone with a bad event happening almost every line. The middle of the poem (lines 5-9) are all about loss or bad events.
 * Imagery** - Millay uses the image of a storm to describe the hardships faced during her romantic relationship. She also indicates dahlia tubers to describe how she would move on with her life and not be bogged down by hopelessness or depression.
 * Overall Points/Meanings-**

Aggressive interpretation: She doesn't want to listen to him; their relationship is in ruins. The storm is metaphorical for the relationship. Then it talks about starting over. In a sense, Millay argues that women like her are capable of handling the challenges of love and life. (Nick) Analysis 2

Hurricane: The men are going to prepare the place for a coming storm and she is afraid of losing him to the storm if it comes early. (Joey) Analysis 3

I'm listening to you, but none of what you're saying Pleases me, on a salty day, When woods and trees beside the sea were pushed back by the wind, Like a fountain of spray, I thought of Matinicus Rock and the tide That came in, came running through the Gut, While from Matinicus Rock the warning whistle was heard, And children whimpered, and doors were shut; There in the autumn when the men go, and the women stand slapping their skirts against the wind, In scattered and barren gardens, looking north, With dahlia tubers dripping from the hand: The wind of their endurance, going south blew away your words so I couldn't hear them though I saw you speaking
 * Paraphrase:**

First part (Lines 1-2): I'm listening to you, but nothing that you say pleases me Second part (Lines 3-8): Relating to the sea and storms and the terror that they bring Third part (Lines (9 - 10): Men going away and women saying goodbye Fourth part (Lines 11-12): Dahlia tubers represent revival of life Fifth part (13- 14): Remembering their suffering as well as courage, I can't hear your words

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