Sonnet 30 by Edna St. Vincent Millay Analysis
Storyboard Text
- Lines 1 2
- Sonnet 30 by Edna St. Vincent is a typical Shakespearean Style poem with an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme. This scene depicts the lines "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drinkNor slumber nor a roof against the rain;" Which states that love cannot buy you any necessities, it is nothing but a feeling
- I'm very hungry, thirsty, our house isn't finished.
- I can't afford it, we only have love.
- Line 5 6
- I'm in so much pain, please help me!
- "Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;" As the poem goes on, the speaker continues to say what love cannot do, It cannot save you when you're short of breath, just like how it can't heal any broken bones you may have. The speaker expresses disbelief how this feeling can illicit such strong reactions in order to obtain it/maintain it, from men specifically. It has no benefits other than making the person feel good, and yet men will go to war for it.
- I have no medicine and no way to treat your wounds, I only have love
- Imagery Used in Order to Further the Message
- This poem relies heavily on imagery. Imagery is used when an speaker wants the audience to visualize what is said using strong words. It plays on the senses and gives a clear a vivid message. Lines like "Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink again;" The usage of the words "floating" and using a more descriptive word like "spar" instead of a generic word like boat gives a clear mental image. It puts the image of men fighting and sometimes sacrificing their own well being for love, despite the fact that it would not do the same them. It would not save them if they were drowning and were in need of assistance.
- The Turning Point
- The turn in the poem happens when speaker states that they are currently not in love, but even when they were moaning to be released for the shackles of love, they still long for it. They went through stating all the things love cannot do, rendering it almost useless, but in the end they would not sell love for peace nor live peacefully without it. They acknowledge that love is nothing more than a feeling, but the change of attitude towards it suggest that the strong emotion is still necessary and should be pursued by every living being who has the possibility to do so.
- We're going to die of starvation, but at least we have each other
- The Trade
- Do you want to trade?
- "Or trade the memory of this night for food. " This line comes right after the turn. If the speaker was given the option to trade his love or a night of romance for a night of food, they would not take it. Love is that powerful and important to everyone, including the speaker.
- No, I have everything I want and need in my hand right now
- The Ending
- The very last line stuck out, not only because it was the end of the poem, but also because it shows the definite change. "It well may be. I do not think I would." After every negative or unflattering line shot towards love, the speaker agrees with these men who would sacrifice themselves for romance. They're stating that they would not change love for the world, not even basic necessities like food and water.
- I love you
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