The Merry Maid by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The poem explores the theme of domesticity and the constraints it imposes on women's lives. The speaker describes a maid who is merry and carefree, but also trapped in her mundane routine. The poem critiques societal expectations of women to be submissive and obedient, highlighting the tension between individual desire and societal norms.
By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1923 · Genre: Poetry, Romance, Drama · 130 words
First lines
Oh, I am grown so free from care / Since my heart broke! / I set my throat against the air, / I laugh at simple folk!
There's little kind and little fair / Is worth its weight in smoke / To me, that's grown so free from care / Since my heart broke!
Lass, if to sleep you would repair / As peaceful as you woke, / Best not besiege your lover there / For just the words he spoke / To me, that's grown so free from care / Since my heart broke!
What this Textopian page supports
The Merry Maid is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1923 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Date: 1923 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romance, Drama
- Length: 130 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Merry Maid by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Similar titles
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse, with a rhythmic and rhyming structure.
- Romance — The content revolves around themes of love and heartbreak.
- Drama — The emotional intensity and personal conflict suggest elements of drama.
Tags
Poetry · Feminist Literature · American Literature · 20th Century · Romanticism · Love Poems · Nature Imagery · Free Verse · Modernist Poetry · Female Protagonist · Coming of Age · Self-Discovery
More by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Renascence and Other Poems (1912)
- Second April: SPRING (1921)
- Second April: CITY TREES (1921)
- Second April: THE BLUE-FLAG IN THE BOG (1921)
- Second April: JOURNEY (1921)
- Second April: EEL-GRASS (1921)
- Second April: ELEGY BEFORE DEATH (1921)
- Second April: THE BEAN-STALK (1921)
- All works by Edna St. Vincent Millay