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Post by louisa on Nov 7, 2008 6:42:00 GMT 2
Sonnet XV by Edna St. Millay Submitted by Lois Roma-Deeley The speaker seems to be saying she will think about her lover only as longas it takes her to finish smoking her cigarette (lines 1-3). The sonnet form contains as it compresses this one precise moment. The pause at the end of each line break mirrors the flick of the speaker's cigarette. Each flick punctuates the speaker's progressive disintegrated memory of her lover. The end rhymes serve as "markers" in the poem which suggest a jazz type riff on the way memory can be erased. The poem celebrates female sexuality yet makes a concerted effort toward acknowledging genuine connection (line 12). Form and content collaborate--equally and with precision--in this poem. To Read Sonnet XV: www.violafair.com/pellmell/millayharp2.htmMore about the poet and more of her poems www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/160
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