I Being Born Women and Distressed
"[I, being born a woman and distressed]" by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed,” serves as an excellent example of a multi-faceted piece. From one angle, it is simply a Petrarchan sonnet, written with a slight variation on rhyme scheme – but that variation, taken deeper, reveals new layers of meaning. Added to Millay’s choice of meter and end-stop, along with a background of Millay’s person, this sonnet seems not so “simple” after all. Millay, though she married in 1923, was known to have extramarital affairs, purportedly with both women and men. In the context of this particular sonnet, such seems revealing indeed – for it seems the speaker of the sonnet is involved in some sort of affair. Or perhaps Millay’s sonnet is addressed to her husband, for it was published in 1923; however, that seems unlikely, since the sonnet frames a rejection of her lover. More likely, I see it as a final ‘goodbye’ to her lover before marriage, for she “find[s] this frenzy insufficient reason” to continue seeing him (or her). Though Millay had an “open” marriage – that is, she and her husband consented to each other’s affairs – she likely did not want to begin her marriage with two lovers.
This poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay is quite short and to the point. Millay wrote during a time when the discussion of female sexuality in poetry was extremely controversial, particularly when it involved the sort of free-spirited messages which Millay's writing often did. In this poem, she discusses her inability to view a partner as more than someone to hook up with. Although she had fun during her time with him, she does not find "this frenzy insufficient reason/ For conversation when [they] meet again."
She starts the poem by stresses that she was born female therefore couldn’t change her sex and because of her gender she is faced with problems and discrimination. Also she makes it clear that this poem is from a female
Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed,” serves as an excellent example of a multi-faceted piece. From one angle, it is simply a Petrarchan sonnet, written with a slight variation on rhyme scheme – but that variation, taken deeper, reveals new layers of meaning. Added to Millay’s choice of meter and end-stop, along with a background of Millay’s person, this sonnet seems not so “simple” after all. Millay, though she married in 1923, was known to have extramarital affairs, purportedly with both women and men. In the context of this particular sonnet, such seems revealing indeed – for it seems the speaker of the sonnet is involved in some sort of affair. Or perhaps Millay’s sonnet is addressed to her husband, for it was published in 1923; however, that seems unlikely, since the sonnet frames a rejection of her lover. More likely, I see it as a final ‘goodbye’ to her lover before marriage, for she “find[s] this frenzy insufficient reason” to continue seeing him (or her). Though Millay had an “open” marriage – that is, she and her husband consented to each other’s affairs – she likely did not want to begin her marriage with two lovers.
This poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay is quite short and to the point. Millay wrote during a time when the discussion of female sexuality in poetry was extremely controversial, particularly when it involved the sort of free-spirited messages which Millay's writing often did. In this poem, she discusses her inability to view a partner as more than someone to hook up with. Although she had fun during her time with him, she does not find "this frenzy insufficient reason/ For conversation when [they] meet again."
She starts the poem by stresses that she was born female therefore couldn’t change her sex and because of her gender she is faced with problems and discrimination. Also she makes it clear that this poem is from a female