Millay's Courage

“The Courage that My Mother Had” is an elegy written by Edna St. Vincent Millay in honor of her mother who had passed away. It is one of the poems in the collection, Mine the Harvest, published in 1949, which was written during Millay’s later years. The poems in this collection are a reflection of her mature sensibility as a woman experiencing plenty of hardship that was reaching a crisis point, including personal loss, doubt regarding her artistic ability, and bouts of depression. “The Courage That My Mother Had” can indeed be read as Millay’s autobiographical response to her mother’s death. In it, she expresses admiration for her mother’s courage and wishes she could possess her mother’s fortitude. Through the use of simple diction, personification,

She makes use of personification when she mentions that her mother’s courage “went with her, and is with her still.” Thus, the reader learns about the courageous character of the poet’s mother. In the next two lines, Millay employs a metaphor to describe her mother’s bravery. In line 3, she compares the courage to “Rock from New England quarried; Now granite on a granite hill.” In doing so, Millay is showing the reader how strong, unshakeable and enduring the mother’s courage was. At the same time, the reference to New England suggests to the reader that perhaps the mother was from that area. Millay uses an admiring, respectful tone that is full of pride as she describes her mother’s character. The use of granite in the metaphor demonstrates that the mother’s strength is great, while at the same time hinting that the mother is dead. Granite implies strength and endurance, but is also commonly used to build headstones. The reader now realizes that the mother took her courage to the

Her diction is straightforward and simple. In lines 5-6, Millay illustrates another facet of her mother’s personality when she describes the brooch that her mother left for her. The brooch is a symbol that represents another of her mother’s traits. Not only was her mother courageous, but she also had a sense of style. Like the brooch, her mother was beautiful and feminine, not just brave and steadfast. The beautiful brooch gives the reader a stark contrast to the image of the granite. Millay then uses a paradox in lines 7-8. The brooch is Millay’s most valued possession, but she is willing to give it up. She realizes that it is only an object when she says “I have no thing I treasure more,”, but she still cares for it since it is her connection to her now dead mother. Because the brooch is simply a possession, a piece of jewelry from which she cannot derive true comfort, Millay is willing to part with it. The brooch is therefore just ornamental and cannot offer that intangible strength her mother