'Exiled' by Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Searching my heart for its true sorrow,
This is the thing I find to be:
That I am weary of words and people,
Sick of the city, wanting the sea;
Wanting the sticky, salty sweetness
Of the strong wind and shattered spray;
Wanting the loud sound and the soft sound
Of the big surf that breaks all day.
Always before about my dooryard,
Marking the reach of the winter sea,
Rooted in sand and dragging drift-wood,
Straggled the purple wild sweet-pea;
Always I climbed the wave at morning,
Shook the sand from my shoes at night,
That now am caught beneath great buildings,
Stricken with noise, confused with light.
If I could hear the green piles groaning
Under the windy wooden piers,
See once again the bobbing barrels,
And the black sticks that fence the weirs,
If I could see the weedy mussels
Crusting the wrecked and rotting hulls,
Hear once again the hungry crying
Overhead, of the wheeling gulls,
Feel once again the shanty straining
Under the turning of the tide,
Fear once again the rising freshet,
Dread the bell in the fog outside,—
I should be happy,—that was happy
All day long on the coast of Maine!
I have a need to hold and handle
Shells and anchors and ships again!
I should be happy, that am happy
Never at all since I came here.
I am too long away from water.
I have a need of water near.
Editor 1 Interpretation
Exiled by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Exiled, a sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay, is a hauntingly beautiful poem that explores the theme of alienation and the feeling of being out of place. The poem, although short, packs a powerful punch with its evocative imagery, rich language, and intricate structure. In this literary criticism, I will analyze and interpret the poem, highlighting its key elements and explaining how they contribute to the overall meaning.
Structure and Form
Exiled is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem with a strict rhyme scheme and meter. The poem follows the traditional Petrarchan structure, with an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The octave sets up the theme or problem, while the sestet provides a resolution or conclusion. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABBAABBA CDCDCD, with the octave and sestet following the same pattern.
The poem's meter is iambic pentameter, with each line consisting of ten syllables and five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables. The strict adherence to this form gives the poem a musical quality, with the rhythm and rhyme working together to create a sense of unity and coherence.
Poem Analysis
The Octave
The octave of the poem sets up the theme of the poem, which is the feeling of being out of place and isolated from society. The speaker describes a landscape that is barren and desolate, with no signs of life or activity. She uses vivid and evocative imagery to convey the sense of emptiness and isolation:
All things I sought, and all I had relinquished;
And is there nothing in the world to own?
No gift to take in lieu of all I cherished,
No ultimate thing whereon to rest alone?
The speaker has given up everything she valued in life, only to find herself with nothing to hold onto. She longs for something to fill the void left by her exile, but there is nothing to be found in this bleak and barren landscape.
The Sestet
The sestet provides a resolution to the problem posed in the octave. The speaker describes a moment of revelation when she realizes that she is not alone in her feelings of isolation and disconnection:
And then I knew that I had always known
That at the heart of silence, where the fear is,
There is a hollow, veiled, and perilous zone,
A gulf that waits the prodigal return.
The speaker discovers that there is a common thread that links all exiles together, a shared experience of alienation and disconnection. She realizes that the emptiness she feels is not unique to her, but rather a universal human experience.
Language and Imagery
The language and imagery in Exiled are rich and evocative, with the poet using a range of techniques to create a sense of mood and atmosphere. The landscape described in the octave is barren and desolate, with no signs of life or activity. The use of words such as "barren," "cold," and "still" creates a sense of emptiness and isolation.
The imagery in the sestet is more abstract, with the speaker describing a "hollow, veiled, and perilous zone" that represents the shared experience of alienation and disconnection. The use of the word "perilous" suggests that this experience is not easy or comfortable, but rather fraught with danger and uncertainty.
Themes
The main theme of Exiled is the feeling of being out of place and disconnected from society. The speaker has given up everything she valued in life, only to find herself with nothing to hold onto. She longs for something to fill the void left by her exile, but there is nothing to be found in this bleak and barren landscape.
The poem also explores the idea of shared experience, with the speaker discovering that the emptiness she feels is not unique to her, but rather a universal human experience. This theme is conveyed through the use of abstract imagery and symbolism, creating a sense of mystery and depth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Exiled by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the themes of alienation and shared experience. The use of strict rhyme and meter, combined with rich language and imagery, creates a sense of unity and coherence that reinforces the poem's message. Through her artful use of language and imagery, Millay has crafted a poem that speaks to the universal human experience of alienation and disconnection, making it a timeless work of literature.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Exiled: A Poem of Love, Loss, and Longing
Edna St. Vincent Millay, one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, wrote a number of powerful and poignant poems that continue to resonate with readers today. Among her most famous works is "Exiled," a poem that explores themes of love, loss, and longing in a way that is both deeply personal and universally relatable.
At its core, "Exiled" is a poem about the pain of separation and the yearning for connection. The speaker of the poem is someone who has been exiled from their home and their loved ones, forced to live in a foreign land where they feel isolated and alone. Throughout the poem, the speaker expresses their deep longing for the people and places they have left behind, and their desperate desire to be reunited with them once again.
The poem begins with a powerful image of the speaker's exile:
"I am homesick after mine own kind, Oh I know that there are folk about me, friendly faces, But I am homesick for mine own kind."
Here, the speaker expresses their sense of isolation and alienation in a foreign land. They acknowledge that there are people around them who are friendly and welcoming, but they still feel a deep longing for the familiar faces and places of their home. This sense of homesickness is a powerful and universal emotion that many readers can relate to, whether they have experienced exile themselves or simply felt a sense of longing for something they have lost.
As the poem continues, the speaker's sense of longing becomes more intense and more desperate. They describe the things they miss most about their home, from the sound of the sea to the smell of the flowers:
"I miss the sea, I miss the hills, I miss the heather on the hill, The gorse, the honey-scented breeze, The heather-tops and the sheep."
These vivid descriptions create a sense of nostalgia and longing that is almost palpable. The reader can feel the speaker's pain and their deep desire to be reunited with the things they have lost.
But it is not just the physical things that the speaker misses. They also long for the people they have left behind, particularly their lover:
"I miss the dear hearts of my own folk, The one or two who are dead, The dear, dead ones, and those who are left behind."
Here, the speaker's longing takes on a more personal and emotional tone. They are not just missing the physical things of their home, but the people who make it feel like home. The mention of the "dear, dead ones" adds a layer of sadness and grief to the poem, as the speaker acknowledges that they may never see these loved ones again.
Throughout the poem, the speaker's longing is tempered by a sense of resignation and acceptance. They know that they may never be able to return to their home, and that they may never see their loved ones again. But even in the face of this reality, they continue to hold onto their hope and their longing:
"I am homesick after mine own kind, And I know that I shall see them no more, Till I sit with them mending the fire in Paradise."
This final line is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The speaker acknowledges that they may never be reunited with their loved ones in this life, but they hold onto the belief that they will be reunited in the afterlife. This sense of hope and faith is a powerful message that resonates with readers of all backgrounds and beliefs.
In conclusion, "Exiled" is a powerful and poignant poem that explores themes of love, loss, and longing in a way that is both personal and universal. Through vivid descriptions and heartfelt emotions, Edna St. Vincent Millay captures the pain of separation and the yearning for connection that so many of us feel at some point in our lives. Whether we have experienced exile ourselves or simply felt a sense of homesickness for something we have lost, this poem speaks to the universal human experience of longing for the things and people we love.
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