"What Lips My Lips have Kissed"

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer studies the sonnet "What Lips My Lips have Kissed" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The writer describes that in this sonnet, the poet is lying alone on a rainy night and looking back on her life. The writer explains that she is remembering the nights when she was not alone and the men that she has had in her life. The writer demonstrates that in doing so, the poet recognizes her own loneliness. Further, the writer points out that the end result is a poem of regret that indicates that the woman's choices have forced her into a lonely life from which she now cannot escape. The writer concludes that the message of the poem is that physical relationships fade and ultimately leave one feeling empty.

From the Paper:

"In the first line, the poet introduces the subject of the poem. She describes herself thinking back on the lips that she has kissed. There is an immediate sense that the poet is alone and lonely. She is thinking back on connections she has had with other people, but it also seems like she has forgotten these people. This is seen by the way she does not describe the people that she has kissed, but the lips that she has kissed. The fact that she describes her lips kissing others and not herself kissing others also suggests that she is not emotionally connected to these people. This is also seen by the way she notes that she has forgotten where she kissed the lips or why. She then moves and mentions the arms that have lain under her head until morning. Again, she is describing body parts rather than people. This emphasizes that she has forgotten the people and the relationships that occurred."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Edna St. Vincent Millay. "What Lips My Lips have Kissed." Literature and the Writing Process. Eds. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, & Robert Funk New York: Prentice Hall, p. 430.

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