Dirge Without Music

American Literature –
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Edna St. Vincent Millay
General Information
Occupation poet, playwright
Date of birth February 22 1882
Place of birth Maine, US
Gender: female
Sexual orientation bisexual
Education Vassar College, Camden High School
Date of death October 19 1950 (aged 58)
Cause of death heart attack
Personal life: married to Eugen Boissevain
Early life
• Her mother: Cora Buzzelle Millay - a nurse

• Her father, Henry Tolman Millay - a teacher
• When she was 8, her parents disvorced because of her father’s
gambling habit.
• She was raised by her mother.
-moved from town to town living in poverty.
-her mother left with a suitcase full of classic literature including
Shakespear and Milton -> she read to her daughters.
-finally, they settled in a small house of Cora’s aunt in Maine. -> where
Millay developed an interest in literature and started writing poetry.
Career
Time Special events
At the age of 14 Published her poetry in the popular children's magazine St. Nicholas, the
Camden Herald, and the high-profile anthology Current Literature.
In 1917, at the age of 20 Entered her poem "Renascence" in a poetry contest in The Lyric Year.
-> The most notable work because:
-it made her publicity and fame
-it gave her a chance to receive a sponsorship to study at Vassar College
After graduating from Moved to New York City’s Greenwich Village, where she led an unconventional life
Vassar College with many literary friends and numerous lovers.
Career
Time Special events
In 1919 Wrote the anti-war play Aria da Capo
In 1920 Collection “A Few Figs From Thistles” triggered heated controversy because of its
brand new exploration of female sexuality and feminism.
In 1923 Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver".
Most notably, in this work she coined the phrase, "My candle burns at both
ends."
Career
Time Special events
In 1931 Fatal Interview was published. It is a series of poems
about the lifespan of a torrid love affair.
During the first world war Millay had been a dedicated and active pacifist;
however, from 1940, she advocated for the U.S. to
enter the war against the Axis. After it did, she was an
active supporter of the war effort.
=> Edna St. Vincent Millay is famous for her poetry that is rather traditional in form but adventurous in
content. She also has reputation for her feminist involvement and her many love affairs.
Dirge without music
Setting
This poem was first published in the book “The Buck in the Snow and
other Poems” in 1928.
Imagery(the representation through language of sense experience)
• “lilies”, “laurel”, “roses”, “darkness of the grave” -> appeal to visual

• “fragrant” -> appeals to the sense of smell
Theme
• Death is natural and inevitable
 “so it is, and so it will be”
 The description of the dust as “indiscriminate” highlights the
theme of the poem, that death is no respecter of persons.
• The law of death is hard to accept
 Repetition of phrases “I am not resigned”, “but I do not approve”
Figures of speech
• Synecdoche: “loving hearts” -> beloved people
• Symbol:
“dust”: death
“roses”: the new life will come from the loss of old life
“grave”, “ground”: the harshness and permanence of death
• Euphemism:
“in the hard ground”, “into the darkness”: death
“They are gone to feed the roses”: taking about the dead fertilizing the plants around
their graves.
• Paradox: the title “Dirge without music” (because “Dirge” itself is a piece of music)
• Irony: the repetition of the phrase “but I do not approve” become ironic because the
author wouldn’t approve of so many good men and women being laid to rest.

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American Literature –

• Her mother: Cora Buzzelle Millay - a nurse

• “lilies”, “laurel”, “roses”, “darkness of the grave” -> appeal to visual

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