Poem Analysis What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where

Romantic Poem Essay In the poem What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why by Edna Millay, is a poem that was released in 1920 that exhibit clear and present themes and stylistic devices that were associated with the Romantic period from 1790-1850. A basic run down of the poems story is about a woman or possibly a man who is reminiscing about his or her past lovers. Now in the present, they are all alone and forgotten what it was like to be loved. After some years of searching for love, they finally accept that they will now forever be alone. Just reading through this poem once, it shows many elements of a Romantic poem, that it could be looked at as homage to poems written in the Romantic period. Some of the characteristics of Romantic poetry had an emphasis on individualism, supernatural and nature. â€Å"What lips† theme throughout the poem matches the criteria of some of the characteristics or Romanticism. The first two lines of the poem give a clear idea of what t one and emotion the speaker is conveying. â€Å"What lips have kissed, and where, and why, / I have forgotten, and what arms have lain† (LL. 1-2). In the first two lines, it sets up the sad depressing tone of how the speaker feels. Their depression/sadness comes from them thinking about their past lovers/romances and how now they get no recognition from men or women. The feeling of loneliness is reinforced later on. â€Å"Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh/ Upon the glass and listen for reply (LL. 4-5).Show MoreRelatedThe Comparison of Two Love Poems634 Words   |  3 PagesThe poem â€Å"How Do I Love Thee†, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and â€Å"What Lips My Lips Have Kissed†, by Edna Vincent Millay are both well-known poems that both have themes of love. (LIT, Kirszner Mandell, Pg. 490). In both poems the poet helps the reader experience a lot of emotion with the use of certain words. There are speakers in both poems. In Mrs. Browning’s poem, the speaker is undefined, leaving open that the speaker could be a he or she. Millay’s poem which is written in first person, theRead MoreLa Belle Dame Sans Merci Explanation2214 Words   |  9 Pagesof an early fifteenth-century French poem by Alain Chartier which belongs to the tradition of courtly love. Keats appropriates this phrase for a ballad which has been generally read as the story of a seductive and treacherous woman who tempts men away from the real world and then leaves them, their dreams unfulfilled and their lives blighted. For all the beguiling simplicity of the surfaces of this literary ballad, it is one of the most difficult of Keatss poems to explain, and open to many interpretationsRead MoreLa Belle Dame Sans Merci Explanation2230 Words   |  9 Pagesof an early fifteenth-century French poem by Alain Chartier which belongs to the tradition of courtly love. Keats appropriates this phrase for a ballad which has been generally read as the story of a seductive and treacherous woman who tempts men away from the real world and then leaves them, their dreams unfulfilled and their lives blighted. For all the beguiling simplicity of the surfaces of this literary ballad, it is one of the most difficult of Keatss poems to explain, and open to many interpretationsRead MoreAsk the Dust by John Fante13686 Words   |  55 Pagesfollowing sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gales For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. (c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group