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Comments about this poem (First Fig
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Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Syed M Zubair
(3/4/2009 8:25:00 PM) |
Although in my comment above I have interpreted 'But ah, my foes' in realtion to envy but obviously my subconscious self was less than happy with it and in a half awake state in my bed I kept on thinking about it and the more I thought I felt that the
'source of envy' was not an appropriate and adequate expression to describe it for it negates the inherent joy and compassion which envelopes these verses. Perhaps a better commentary would be:
Ah my detractors, true that I have lived an unorganised and unruly life which has earned me your disapprobation and reproof but you look at the lovely light I have radiated all around me.
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Syed M Zubair
(3/3/2009 12:04:00 AM) |
In a dictionary there is not much difference in their meanings but the manner in which they have been used here they come over with completely different nuances. These are perhaps the limits beyond which Epicureanism cannot be taken and where pain and pleasure become so intertwined that they lose their separateness. I have yet to see a more meaningful use of the two interjections of ah and oh in a poetic context
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-
It gives a lovely light.
I am living a more than full life that will cut short the natural span of my being but ah my enemies you have no reason to delight in it and oh my friends do not be sorry for me. Look at the lovely light that I am radiating around me for it is a source of envy for my foes and an occasion to delight for my well-wishers.
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