‘Oh, Oh, You Will Be Sorry’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a poem telling a story about the sexist expectations set for women in the 1900s. This was a time in which women’s roles were rapidly and immensely changing due to them performing traditionally male tasks and occupations as the men were fighting in the war. Consequently, women started to realise that they too could work, provide and be educated and so many gained feminist ideas and resentment for the patriarchy. A lot of them defied their ascribed roles regardless of the backlash that would come from this. In Millay’s poem she takes the persona of one of these women and tells her story through the use of poetic techniques such as structure, irony, tone, anaphora, alliteration and dialogue.
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It aids in providing context and shows the prejudice present at the time. There is one line of dialogue in this sonnet and it is ‘What a big book for such a little head’. This line appears to be coming from her husband, who ridicules her attempts to be educated. He is portrayed as being sexist and having the power in the relationship, not only because he is a man but because Milley’s character is in love with him, making it hard for her to leave. The reader can also tell, however, that she is frustrated and silently irate with him due to his lack of support. The reader, especially if the reader identifies as a girl/woman and has experienced sexism before consequently feels empathy towards her because she is in a possession of vulnerability, where she has to pretend to be a perfect wife while planning her escape. Additionally, the determination in this woman may empower readers to do what they please, even if it’s discouraged by society. The reason why females will identify with this more is because they are more likely to have experienced sexism whether it be unequal pay, expectations or comments such as the one in the poem. Male readers may also be sensitive towards women’s issues but due to lack of experience the impact on them is likely to be
It aids in providing context and shows the prejudice present at the time. There is one line of dialogue in this sonnet and it is ‘What a big book for such a little head’. This line appears to be coming from her husband, who ridicules her attempts to be educated. He is portrayed as being sexist and having the power in the relationship, not only because he is a man but because Milley’s character is in love with him, making it hard for her to leave. The reader can also tell, however, that she is frustrated and silently irate with him due to his lack of support. The reader, especially if the reader identifies as a girl/woman and has experienced sexism before consequently feels empathy towards her because she is in a possession of vulnerability, where she has to pretend to be a perfect wife while planning her escape. Additionally, the determination in this woman may empower readers to do what they please, even if it’s discouraged by society. The reason why females will identify with this more is because they are more likely to have experienced sexism whether it be unequal pay, expectations or comments such as the one in the poem. Male readers may also be sensitive towards women’s issues but due to lack of experience the impact on them is likely to be