Free Verse Techniques Conveying Structure an Analysis of...

Free Verse Techniques Conveying Structure An Analysis of â€Å"Spring† By Edna St. Vincent Millay Composed in free verse, the poem â€Å"Spring† by Edna St. Vincent Millay contains many poetic elements that create a feeling of structure throughout. As free verse challenges the conventions of writing, so too, does St. Vincent Millay’s interpretation of Spring challenge societies conventional beliefs associated with the season. Millay uses various different poetic elements of writing as effective alternatives to conventional methods of prose such as use of quatrain, and an adherence to metric and rhyme schemes. Elevating itself from such conventions, Millay’s poem incorporates the use of personification, thought provoking questions, repetition,†¦show more content†¦This assumption is reinforced in the latter part of the poem, when Millay personifies â€Å"April† once more unsatisfied with the seasons return, stating â€Å"April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.† (17-18) By again referring to the season of Spring as â₠¬Å"April,†(1,17) as well as associating the month with human characteristics and activities such as being an â€Å"idiot,† â€Å"babbling,† and â€Å"strewing flowers,†(18) the personification of Spring becomes even more clear. From this perspective, just as Spring cannot appease Millay with beauty or prospect of flowers, one cannot truly mend a broken relationship with words and gifts alone. The actions of â€Å"babbling† and â€Å"strewing†(18) are associated with ignorance, thus one can assume Millay is annoyed with the month of Spring, as people who receive flowers are most likely doing so because they have been annoyed or hurt by their significant other. Just as Spring continually returns, creating life ignorant of death, an annoying lover returns to a damaged heart, ignorant to the absence of love. Millay uses free verse elements, more specifically thought-provoking questions, to enhance the overall poetic feeling of â€Å"Spring†. Beginning with the proposal of a question, â€Å"To what purpose, April, do you return again?†(1) Millay blatantly challenges the reason behind natural order. Millay again does this when stating, â€Å"It is