The Philosopher by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The poem explores the idea of a philosopher who has abandoned worldly desires and material possessions to pursue knowledge and understanding. The speaker describes the philosopher's austere lifestyle, devoid of comforts and pleasures, yet filled with a sense of purpose and conviction. Through the philosopher's example, the poem examines the tension between desire and renunciation, highlighting the difficulties and rewards of a life dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom.
By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1929 · Genre: Poetry, Romance, Drama · 150 words
First lines
And what are you that, wanting you / I should be kept awake / As many nights as there are days / With weeping for your sake?
And what are you that, missing you, / As many days as crawl / I should be listening to the wind / And looking at the wall?
I know a man that's a braver man / And twenty men as kind, / And what are you, that you should be / The one man in my mind?
Yet women's ways are witless ways, / As any sage will tell, -- / And what am I, that I should love / So wisely and so well?
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse, with a rhythmic and rhyming structure typical of poetry.
- Romance — The content revolves around love and longing, common themes in the romance genre.
- Drama — The emotional intensity and personal conflict suggest elements of drama.
Tags
Philosophy · Poetry · Modernism · Feminist Literature · American Literature · 20th Century · Free Verse · Lyric Poetry · Autobiographical · Introspective · Psychological Insight · Emotional Depth
What this Textopian page supports
The Philosopher is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1929 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: 1929 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romance, Drama
- Length: 150 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
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- Work identity for The Philosopher 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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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