Of all that Ever in Extreme Disease

Name: Of all that Ever in Extreme Disease
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay

The poem explores themes of love, suffering, and confinement. The speaker expresses a deep yearning for freedom from emotional and physical bondage, using the metaphor of imprisonment to convey the intensity of their feelings. The speaker identifies with others who endure similar pain, emphasizing a shared experience of longing and despair. The invocation of "Sweet Love" suggests a complex relationship with love, portraying it as both a source of torment and a plea for compassion. The imagery of chains and dungeons symbolizes the constraints imposed by love, while the "golden clank" of chains indicates a paradoxical beauty in suffering. The speaker's cries for release highlight the desperation felt in the face of overwhelming emotions. Throughout the work, the tension between desire and restraint is palpable. The speaker's acknowledgment of their own weakness contrasts with a desire for strength and agency. The poem ultimately reflects on the dual nature of love as both a binding force and a potential source of liberation, leaving the reader to ponder the complexities of emotional entrapment and the quest for freedom.

By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1936 · Genre: Poetry, Romanticism, Existentialism · 157 words

First lines

Of all that ever in extreme disease "Sweet Love, sweet cruel Love, have pity! " cried, Count me the humblest, hold me least of these

That wear the red heart crumpled in the side, In heaviest durance, dreaming or awake, Filling the dungeon with their piteous woe; Not that I shriek not till the dungeon shake, "Oh, God! Oh, let me out! Oh, let me go! "But that my chains throughout their iron length

Make such a golden clank upon my ear, But that I would not, boasted I the strength, Up with a terrible arm and out of here

Where thrusts my morsel daily through the bars

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Of all that Ever in Extreme Disease is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1936 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
Date: 1936 CE
Language: English
Genres: Poetry, Romanticism, Existentialism, Lyric, Modernism
Length: 157 words
Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Genres

Poetry — The work is written in verse, employing poetic devices and structure typical of poetry.
Romanticism — Themes of love, longing, and emotional intensity are central to the text, characteristic of Romantic literature.
Existentialism — The exploration of suffering, confinement, and the desire for freedom reflects existential themes.
Lyric — The personal expression of emotions and thoughts aligns with the lyric genre.