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Edna St. Vincent Millay's 'Love Is Not All'

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“Love Is Not All” by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a sonnet that follows the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet, meaning the poem is broken up into three quatrains and a concluding couplet. This sonnet expresses the conflict of emotional versus physical need. Even though having a lover is not necessary to being happy, the narrative voice resolves this conflict by saying that she would not be able to give up love if she were in this particular scenario. The poetic devices within this sonnet help enhance certain aspects in a way that the audience can relate to the sonnet more and understand the complicated message that the speaker is trying to communicate.
The first quatrain covers the idea of how love is truly not everything. Millay effectively conveys this idea through the use of negative metaphors and repetition. The speaker says, “Love is not …show more content…

Not only does this imagery set up visuals for the audience, but it also meets other senses. For example, when the speaker states that “Love cannot fill the thickened lung with breath” (line 5), I can practically feel my own chest rise. This is the speaker’s way of saying that love can not save you or be your medicine. Basically, you do not have to rely on a significant other through your ups and downs. Love cannot satisfy all your needs, love cannot protect you, and love cannot provide you with everything you want. There is a repetition of “sink and rise” running over a few lines in this quatrain. This use of enjambment really adds effect to the sonnet. In real life, the action of trying to stay above the water when you keep going under seems like it goes on forever. The repetition and enjambment throughout this part of the sonnet literally makes the writing seem like it is going on forever too. This forms a parallel between the context of the poem and the diction of the

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