Fatal Interview (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
- First Published: 1931
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry, Sonnet
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Love or romance, Beauty, Heart
The poet reached the peak of her powers in this sequence of fifty-two sonnets which deliver much unhappy wisdom on the perplexities of a failed love affair closely resembling that of Millay and Dillon. The first and last sonnets allude to the myth of Endymion and Selene, a goddess who falls in love with a handsome mortal. The poet's persona suffers love in the ancient way, on a grand scale like that of Cleopatra or Cressida.
The central problem, though, is as modern as it is ancient. The beloved defies possession even as the lover must possess. The poet's persona feels condemned...
[The entire page is 563 words long]
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