Literature Network » Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay's gendered language and form: "Sonnets from an Ungrafted Tree."

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From: Style
Date: 19950322
Author:Fairley, Irene R.

Although part of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Harp-Weaver (1924),(1) Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Sonnets from an Ungrafted Tree" was regarded by many critics as inferior and still tends to receive less attention than Millay's other sonnet sequences. However, I believe it is the one that is thematically most imaginative and most inventive within the genre. As they narrate a woman's inner struggle, these sonnets merge women's speech in its various forms, from gossip to story telling to diary, and as such represent an important development. To achieve her dramatic purpose, Millay uses ...

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