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A review by mary_soon_lee
Collected Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay
As the title indicates, this book contains the sonnets of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). Millay is an excellent poet and these are excellent sonnets. Yet, whenever I read more than a few in succession, the sonnet form began to lose its appeal for me. In retrospect, I wish I had picked a collection of Millay's poetry that contained a variety of forms.
A few other notes:
1. The collection includes several extended sequences, including Fatal Interview, a 52-sonnet sequence.
2. Certain subjects, particularly love and grief, recur frequently.
3. I liked the references to the natural world: animals, insects, constellations, et al.
4. Taken as a whole my favorite of the sonnets are the ones beginning "Your face is like a chamber where a king," and "What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why" and "Now forth to meadow as the farmer goes" (which is a lovely sonnet about a farmer and an ant).
5. Even if a sonnet didn't appeal to me in its entirety, very often there were sections that I loved. My copy of the book is strewn with highlighter.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved). In the case of poetry books, for various reasons, I often omit a rating altogether.
A few other notes:
1. The collection includes several extended sequences, including Fatal Interview, a 52-sonnet sequence.
2. Certain subjects, particularly love and grief, recur frequently.
3. I liked the references to the natural world: animals, insects, constellations, et al.
4. Taken as a whole my favorite of the sonnets are the ones beginning "Your face is like a chamber where a king," and "What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why" and "Now forth to meadow as the farmer goes" (which is a lovely sonnet about a farmer and an ant).
5. Even if a sonnet didn't appeal to me in its entirety, very often there were sections that I loved. My copy of the book is strewn with highlighter.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved). In the case of poetry books, for various reasons, I often omit a rating altogether.