Death is inevitable for all living beings. Friends, family, the rich, and the poor; they will all succumb to Death’s cold embrace to be buried, and later, fused with the Earth. But, their legacy lives on, defiantly, within memory. In “Dirge Without Music” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the inevitability of death is acknowledged, but it is not accepted. In this paper, I will examine the structure, imagery, tone, and themes present within the poem. In the first stanza, Millay conveys a resistance to death which echoes throughout the poem. She starts by admitting she won’t accept her loved ones being buried and locked away. Even though this is the way it has always been: everyone will die. “So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind: / Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned with lilies and laurel they go” (2-4), she explains. Painting a graceful scenario in which
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She knows her loved one won’t just die, but become apart of the Earth and its soil; it’s only natural. Millay then addresses the audience: “A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, / A formula, a phrase remains,—but the best is lost” (7-8). She is describing what it feels like to have lost a person “you” loved. A portion of them will always remain within memory. But, the “best”, such as their appearance, personality, emotions, and motivations will be locked away. In short, Millay is describing the effects, both physically and mentally, of having a friend, lover, or family member die. The third stanza acts as an extension to the second by covering the same premises. The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the / love,— / They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses” (9-11). As mentioned previously, the “best” of the deceased are gone, and Millay clarifies what she meant by stating some traits like
She knows her loved one won’t just die, but become apart of the Earth and its soil; it’s only natural. Millay then addresses the audience: “A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, / A formula, a phrase remains,—but the best is lost” (7-8). She is describing what it feels like to have lost a person “you” loved. A portion of them will always remain within memory. But, the “best”, such as their appearance, personality, emotions, and motivations will be locked away. In short, Millay is describing the effects, both physically and mentally, of having a friend, lover, or family member die. The third stanza acts as an extension to the second by covering the same premises. The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the / love,— / They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses” (9-11). As mentioned previously, the “best” of the deceased are gone, and Millay clarifies what she meant by stating some traits like