- Died:
- October 19, 1950, Austerlitz, New York (aged 58)
- Awards And Honors:
- Pulitzer Prize
Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Who was Edna St. Vincent Millay?
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was an American poet and dramatist who embodied romantic rebellion and bravado in the 1920s. Millay's poem, "Renascence," gained her initial recognition in 1912 and facilitated her attendance at Vassar College.
After graduating in 1917, she published her first book, Renascence and Other Poems, and moved to Greenwich Village, becoming a celebrated figure in the avant-garde literary scene. In 1923, she won a Pulitzer Prize for Ballad of the Harp-Weaver. Millay's youthful appearance, the independent tone of her poetry, and her political and social ideals made her a symbol of the youth of her time.
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What is Edna St. Vincent Millay known for?
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was an American poet and dramatist known for embodying romantic rebellion and bravado in the 1920s. Her poem "Renascence," published in 1912, gained her considerable attention and financial support to attend Vassar College.
Millay became a celebrated figure in Greenwich Village, admired among avant-garde and radical literary circles. Her collection A Few Figs from Thistles (1920), featuring the line "My candle burns at both ends," became an anthem for the era's "flaming youth," though she later despised the renown it brought. In 1923, she won a Pulitzer Prize for Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (1922). Millay's work evolved from youthful cynicism to more personal and mature themes, particularly in her sonnets and short poems.
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What kinds of poetry did Millay write?
Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and dramatist who embodied romantic rebellion in the 1920s. Millay wrote a range of poetry, from lyrical verse to sonnet sequences. Her early work displayed bravado and cynicism, while her later poems adopted a more somber and personal tone.
Her poem, "Renascence," written in rhymed couplets, brought her considerable attention and was included in The Lyric Year anthology in 1912. In 1923, she won a Pulitzer Prize for Ballad of the Harp-Weaver. Other notable works include Fatal Interview, a sonnet sequence, and Wine from These Grapes.
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What important awards did she receive for her writing?
Edna St. Vincent Millay received several important awards for her writing. In 1923, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her poem Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (1922). Earlier in her career, Millay's poem, "Renascence," published in 1912, gained considerable acclaim and brought her to the attention of a benefactor who made it possible for her to attend Vassar College. In 1925, the Metropolitan Opera Company commissioned her to write The King’s Henchman, which became the most popular American opera of its time.
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How did Millay’s poetry reflect her political or personal beliefs?
Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry often mirrored her political and personal beliefs. Her youthful appearance, along with the independent and almost defiant tone of her poetry, coupled with her political and social ideals, turned her into a symbol for the youth of her time.
In 1927, she showed her political convictions by donating the proceeds from her poem "Justice Denied in Massachusetts" to the defense of Sacco and Vanzetti and even appealed to the governor for their lives. Millay's earlier work displayed bravado and stylish cynicism, but her later poems, especially her sonnets, became more personal and mature, showcasing intense lyrical verse.
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How did Edna St. Vincent Millay influence American literature and later poets?
Edna St. Vincent Millay became an important literary figure and a leading voice in American Modernism after her poem "Renascence" was published in 1912. Millay's work and ideals made her a symbol of youth, known for romantic rebellion and bravado.
Millay's impact stems from her ability to blend traditional forms with modern sensibilities, exploring themes of love, loss, and social justice with emotional intensity. Her success with The King’s Henchman also demonstrated her influence, as it became the most popular American opera of its time. Millay received a Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for Ballad of the Harp-Weaver.
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Edna St. Vincent Millay (born February 22, 1892, Rockland, Maine, U.S.—died October 19, 1950, Austerlitz, New York) was an American poet and dramatist who came to personify romantic rebellion and bravado in the 1920s.
Millay was reared in Camden, Maine, by her divorced mother, who recognized and encouraged her talent in writing poetry. Her first published poem appeared in the St. Nicholas Magazine for children in October 1906. She remained at home after her graduation from high school in 1909, and in four years she published five more poems in St. Nicholas. Her first acclaim came when “Renascence” was included in The Lyric Year in 1912; the poem brought Millay to the attention of a benefactor who made it possible for her to attend Vassar College. She graduated in 1917.
In that year Millay published her first book, Renascence and Other Poems, and moved to Greenwich Village in New York City. There she became a lively and admired figure among the avant garde and radical literary set. To support herself Millay, under the pseudonym “Nancy Boyd,” submitted hackwork verse and short stories to magazines, and while her ambition to go on the stage was short-lived, she worked with the Provincetown Players for a time and later wrote the one-act Aria da Capo (1920) for them. The same year she published the verse collection A Few Figs from Thistles, from which the line “My candle burns at both ends” derives. The poem was taken up as the watchword of the “flaming youth” of that era and brought her a renown that she came to despise. In 1921 she published Second April and two more plays, Two Slatterns and a King and The Lamp and the Bell. She also began a two-year European sojourn, during which she was a correspondent for Vanity Fair.
Millay won a Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (1922) and married Eugen Jan Boissevain, a Dutch businessman with whom from 1925 she lived in a large, isolated house in the Berkshire foothills near Austerlitz, New York. In 1925 the Metropolitan Opera Company commissioned her to write an opera with Deems Taylor. The resulting work, The King’s Henchman, first produced in 1927, became the most popular American opera up to its time and, published in book form, sold out four printings in 20 days.
Millay’s youthful appearance, the independent, almost petulant tone of her poetry, and her political and social ideals made her a symbol of the youth of her time. In 1927 she donated the proceeds from her poem “Justice Denied in Massachusetts” to the defense of Sacco and Vanzetti and personally appealed to the governor of the state for their lives. Her major later works include The Buck in the Snow (1928), which introduced a more somber tone to her poetry; Fatal Interview (1931), a highly acclaimed sonnet sequence; and Wine from These Grapes (1934). Her letters were edited by A.R. Macdougall in 1952.
The bravado and stylish cynicism of much of Millay’s early work gave way in later years to more personal and mature writing, and she produced, particularly in her sonnets and other short poems, a considerable body of intensely lyrical verse. A final collection of her verse appeared posthumously as Mine the Harvest in 1954.