Since I Cannot Persuade you from this Mood

Name: Since I Cannot Persuade you from this Mood
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay

The poem explores themes of love, loss, and the struggle between the past and the present. The speaker addresses a lover who is preoccupied with memories of the dead, urging him to shift his focus to the living. The speaker feels overshadowed by the historical figures of women who have impacted the world, suggesting that their legacies are more significant than her own existence. The speaker expresses frustration at the lover's fixation on these past figures, indicating that such preoccupation hinders their relationship. She implores him to summon the spirits of these legendary women, suggesting that their presence might be more comforting than her own. The imagery of blood and passion contrasts the vitality of life with the coldness of death, emphasizing the speaker's desire for connection and the urgency of living fully in the present. As the poem progresses, the speaker grapples with feelings of inadequacy and the weight of historical expectations. The invocation of mythological and literary figures serves to highlight the tension between the idealized past and the speaker's reality. Ultimately, the work reflects on the complexities of love, the inevitability of death, and the longing for recognition and relevance in a world that often prioritizes the memories of the departed over the living.

By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1931 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Romanticism, Modernism · 143 words

First lines

Since I cannot persuade you from this mood

Of pale preoccupation with the dead, Not for my comfort nor for your own good

Shift your concern to living bones instead; Since that which Helen did and ended Troy

Is more than I can do though I be warm, Have up your buried girls, egregious boy, And stand with them against the unburied storm.

What this Textopian page supports

Since I Cannot Persuade you from this Mood is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1931 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
Date: 1931 CE
Language: English
Genres: Lyric Poetry, Romanticism, Modernism, Elegy, Dramatic Monologue
Length: 143 words
Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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Similar titles

Genres

Lyric Poetry — The poem expresses personal emotions and thoughts, characteristic of lyric poetry.
Romanticism — Themes of love, loss, and the contemplation of death align with Romantic ideals.
Modernism — The poem's introspective nature and focus on individual experience reflect modernist tendencies.
Elegy — The poem addresses themes of death and remembrance, typical of elegiac poetry.