Love Poetry: Two Sonnets by Drayton and Millay

Paper Summary:

A critical analysis of the ways in which Michael Drayton and Edna St. Vincent Millay have used poetic form, structure and language in their poems 'Sonnet 61' from 'Idea', and 'If I should learn, in some quite casual way', based on the poems and wider reading in the poetry of love. The writer shows convincingly how both poets use equivocal language to conceal their true feelings; Drayton through his word selection and Millay with language coupled with imagery. Drayton appears to portray conviction about the death of the love affair, but in fact thereby reveals his inner conflict over the situation. On the other hand, the subtlety with which Millay masks her feelings reveals how powerful they actually are and may support an argument that Millay's poem, though similar to Drayton's, is, almost conversely, a much more satisfying depiction of love.

From the Paper:

"The main thoughts and ideas which the two poets, Michael Drayton and Edna St. Vincent Millay, aim to convey in their sonnets (Sonnet 61, Idea, and 'If I should learn, in some quite casual way', respectively) are thus: in Sonnet 61, Drayton writes of a love affair which is drawing to a close, and conveys his regret, interestingly, through what might be called a psychological construct; he employs language which, while seeming to be the opposite of regretful, nonetheless does not fail to let us, the readers, know his true feelings of regret and continuing love despite his intentionally misleading language. Sonnet 61 is a highly equivocal poem, as is 'If I should learn'. In this poem Millay writes about her imaginary reaction to the situation of discovering that her lover has died. Though she expresses no explicit emotion (except perhaps for emotional distance and disinterest) and seems to describe an unaffected response, through her use of language (like Drayton - this is the main point of agreement between the two poems) and also imagery, she conveys her true feelings of deep affection behind the facade of disinterest."

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