Apostrophe+to+Man

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"Apostrophe to Man" is a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay that is the perfect example of poem from the Modernist time period. It has many characteristics of the Modernism time period that make it so great and easy to understand. Along with characteristics of the Modernism time period, it also has characteristics of the author, Edna St. Vincent Millay (St. Vincent Millay). This poem is easy to relate to others by the same author as well because it is so specific. The fact that it has so many characteristics of Modernism also makes it easy to relate to "Study of Two Pears" which is also a Modernism poem (Stevens).

Modernism is a very easy concept to grasp. It simply means you are being modern and being modern during this time meant to be somewhat analytical while still expressing yourself. Edna St. Vincent Millay does a very good job of expressing herself in this poem. She writes what she feels is the right thing to do for the country. It is also a modern opinion. She says that the country is ready to go to war which was something that was going on during that time period so it was modern back then (St. Vincent Millay). She was analytical in that she brought up relevant facts. She used the facts to back up her opinion that the country was ready for war (St. Vincent Millay). An example of how she used facts is when she says “Make speeches, unveil statues, issue bonds, parade;” and by saying that the country has and will continue to do all of this, she is saying they are ready for war (St. Vincent Millay).

Edna St. Vincent Millay was much like the poems she wrote. They were very powerful poems full of strong opinions. St. Vincent Millay had been a strong willed and powerful girl ever since she was young (Gale). She started writing a young age, went to prestigious schools, and was very powerful being the editor of the places she worked at (Gale). Therefore, in her poems she wrote about confidence and power. In "Apostrophe to Man", she writes that the country is strong and that it is powerful enough to go to war (St. Vincent Millay). St. Vincent Milllay’s mother raised her and her sisters by herself giving her the confidence and strength to stand alone just like her mother (Gale). As she grew up, she stayed as confident and strong willed and it showed throughout her writing (Gale).

St. Vincent Millay has a very unique style of writing that displays both Modernism characteristics from her personality (Gale). Therefore, it is very easy to see certain trends in all of her poems. They usually consist of confidence and certain issues that relate to the time period they were written in (Gale). Her poem "Apostrophe to Man" also relates to another poem of the Modernism time period called "Study of Two Pears" (Stevens). They both have the same themes. "Apostrophe to Man" has a theme of creativity because she was creative enough to make this opinion about the country as a whole (St. Vincent Millay). Study of Two Pears also has the theme of creativity by making it a paradox with more than one meaning (Stevens). They both have the modern relativity in common as well.

No matter how a reader could look at it, Apostrophe to Man has many characteristics of the Modernism time period (St. Vincent Millay). It is very clear that the author was writing about an issue of its time period. St. Vincent Millay puts in many aspects of her personality as well as aspects of Modernism. He rpoems have many things in common with each other and characteristics in common with the poem "Study of Two Pears" (Stevens). This poem will always be remembered as a staple in the Modernsim time period.

Gale, Robert L. "Edna St. Vincent Millay's Life." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. 22 Mar. 2006. Web. 04 May 2010. . St. Vincent Millay, Edna. "Apostrophe to Man." //University// //of Michigan////, Center for the Study of Complex Systems//. 15 Oct. 2005. Web. 04 May 2010. .

Stevens, Wallace. "Study of Two Pears by Wallace Stevens : The Poetry Foundation [poem] : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry." //The Poetry Foundation : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry.// 23 Nov. 2000. Web. 04 May 2010. .

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