To S. M by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The poem is a sonnet that explores the theme of unrequited love. The speaker addresses a person, S.M., expressing their deep emotional connection and longing for this individual. Despite the intensity of their feelings, the speaker acknowledges that they will never be able to fully express or act on them, implying that S.M. does not return their affections.
By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1922 · Genre: Poetry, Romantic, Historical · 93 words
Editions
First lines
If he should lie a-dying
I am not willing you should go / Into the earth, where Helen went; / She is awake by now, I know.
Where Cleopatra's anklets rust / You will not lie with my consent; / And Sappho is a roving dust; / Cressid could love again; Dido, / Rotted in state, is restless still: / You leave me much against my will.
Similar titles
- To Kathleen by Edna St Vincent Millay
- Two Voices by Edna St Vincent Millay
- To Fanny by John Keats
- Journal by Edna St Vincent Millay
- Riposte by William Carlos Williams
- I Have No Life But This by Emily Dickinson
Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse, with a rhythmic and lyrical quality typical of poetry.
- Romantic — The work expresses deep emotional connection and longing, characteristic of the romantic genre.
- Historical — The work references historical figures such as Helen, Cleopatra, Sappho, Cressid, and Dido, indicating a historical context.
Tags
Love · Poetry · Romantic · Intimate · Personal · Emotional · Sensual · Passionate · Female Perspective · Feminist · Early 20th Century · American Literature
What this Textopian page supports
To S. M is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1922 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: 1922 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romantic, Historical
- Length: 93 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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- Work identity for To S. M by Edna St. Vincent Millay
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- 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