Assignment nº2 : Poetry Anthology

(Edna St. Vincent Millay. 1892-1950)

Oh,Oh you will be sorry for that word!
 Give back my book and take my kiss instead.
 Was it my enemy or my friend I heard,
 "what a big book for such a little head!"
 Come, I will show you now my newest hat,
 And you may watch me purse my mouth and prink!

Oh I shall love you still, and all of that.
I never again shall tell you what I think.
 I shall be sweet and crafty, soft and sly;
You will not catch me reading any more:
 I shall be called a wife to pattern by;
And some day when you knock and push the door,
Some sane day, not too bright and not too stormy,
I shall be gone, and you may whistle for me.                         
( Edna St. Vicent Millay)

 I chose this lyrical poem as it was written by a woman and the main theme is precisely the role of women in society. It talks about a man who considers his wife not intelligent enough to read a book, instead of that, she is supposed to be a model wife, sweet and craft and only caring about buying new things.
  The selection of the pictures is pretty obvious as it shows, on the one hand, the expected model wife, beautiful and only using her head to wear hats and, on the other hand, the woman who has her own interests and is not worried about being what she wants to be, although it may involve leaving her husband.

The Parting  (Michael Drayton. 1563 – 1631)      

SINCE there’s no help, come let us kiss and part –

Nay, I have done, you get no more of me;

And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,

That thus so cleanly I myself can free.

Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,

And when we meet at any time again,

Be it not seen in either of our brows

That we one jot of former love retain.

Now at the last gasp of Love’s latest breath,

When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,

When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,

And Innocence is closing up his eyes,

- Now if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,

       From death to life thou might’st him yet recover.

 I chose another lyrical poem because I found the major theme of it really interesting. I talks about a marriage that is coming to an end. At first the husband is glad with the separation as it is a clean break and he enjoys his freedom. But then the mood changes and he reveals that the decision is on her hands...if she wants she can go back and recover his love.

In my opinion, these 2 pictures show both feelings: the first one is portraying divorce as a reason for celebration. The second refers to the second mood explained in this poem, the desire of the narrator to recover the love of his wife.

Annabel Lee (Edgar Allan Poe. 1809-1849)

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

The third poem  is a narrative poem I really enjoyed reading. It is a love poem that tells us the story of two children who deeply love each other...so deeply that the angels of heaven are so envious of that love that decide to kill the little Annabel Lee. Nevertheless, no one can separate them, and that love transcends death and lives forever.
The picture clearly illustrate the love of two infants and this idea is reinforced by the text appearing on it: "Love is a moment that lasts forever".