CRITICAL ANALYSIS ESSAY

Based on the poem that I have chosen, What lips my lips have kissed, written by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poem is about the poet herself cries for her lost of lovers. She enjoyed having many lovers but she never been serious in any of the relationship. She continually changes her lover and when she looks back during her youth, she feels an intense pain of loneliness. She fondly remembers the delight of kissing many lovers but the faces and personalities of her lovers had been forgotten. She doesnt give the impression that she developed relationship. The lovers attempts to contact with her again but she just remain it as memories. Now, she feels that she is too old and less attractive to have the passionate love of the youth. Normally, the traditional sonnet always praises a single lover. It means that the theme might be love. But, in this poem, I noticed that the content of this sonnet is an untraditional style of poem as the poet boast of having so many different lovers over the course of her life. Thus, this is certainly not the theme for a traditional sonnet. So, the main theme for this sonnet is the loss. The loss of things and feelings that one has known in the past. The evidence is clearly seen by the line that not again will turn to me at midnight with a cry whereby it gives the sense that she lost her ability to gather these lads and shows the part of lament. Furthermore, she uses the season of imagery to demonstrate about herself in order to show the sense of loss in the last few lines.Thus in the winter stands a lonely tree, nor knows what birds have vanished one by one means that she describes herself as lonely tree and the birds are her past lovers. It signify just like the tree is left all alone when the birds fly south in the winter. Other than that, the literary devices that I can bring out from the poem are the metaphor and personification. The metaphor begins at line nine which is the lonely tree that typifies her. The birds represent the lads and boughs represent the poets bed. Besides, the personification is in line I only know that summer sang in me. The words summer sang typify attribution of human characteristic to something non human.

Meanwhile, sometimes there is a tone of guilty in the poem which is in line in my heart there stirs a quiet pain. There is also a tone which is extremely sad and regretful, summer sang in me a little while, that in me sings no more. Throughout the poem, I notify that the poet write in a sad mood. She feels lonely as her past lovers have gone one by one. She is not as attractive like before to attract the lads as she has grown old. Moreover, the issues and concerns raised in the poem is about the sorrowful piece of advice and a stern warning to the young, especially to women to think further in any relationship they have been through for the sake of their future. Be serious to any relationship and dont play other peoples feelings. Apart from that, ones should think the effect of having so many affairs that can leads to health problem, the disturbance in emotion, and the pain of feeling loneliness. In the nutshell, the poem tells us to be loyal and faithful with our partner. Like what Sylvester Stallone said, I learned the real meaning of love. Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade, but loyalty never fades. You can depend so much on certain people, you can set your watch by them.