Time does not bring relief by Edna St.

Vincent Millay
Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last years leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last years bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go,so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, There is no memory of him here!
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.

Whiteside 1

David Whiteside
Covington
English 101
April 6, 2015
Explication of Time does not bring relief by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Time does not bring relief by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a somber
poem in which the speaker discusses their broken heart. The broken heart
the speaker experiences is caused by the loss of the speakers lover. The loss
of the speakers lover could be due to various reasons; however, after
examining this poem I believe that the speakers lover is deceased. No
matter how much time elapses the speaker cannot rise above the grief and
heartbreak caused by the decease of the speakers lover.
In the first couple of lines, the speaker states that even the passing of
time cannot ease the speakers heart ache and grief. The speaker uses a
harsh tone when the speaker calls everyone, who told the speaker that time
would heal her pain, liars. I believe that the speakers tone is also dissatisfied
because various people told the speaker that time would ease her heart
ache, yet even with the passing of time the speakers heart ache was not
suppressed. I believe that the exclamation point used at the end of line two,
expresses that the speaker is angry that time has not eased the speakers
grief from the heartbreak.

Whiteside 2
The speakers gender is revealed in line 3, when the speaker uses the
word him. I conclude that the speaker is of the female gender, since the
speakers lover was of the male gender. The weeping of the rain (3)
symbolizes the speakers crying and tears over the loss of her lover. The
speaker chose to use the word weeping, which implies that the speaker is
weeping due to the fact that rain cannot weep. The rain weeping is
personification of the rain. The speaker wants her lover all the time,
especially, at night, which is when I believe is the time that the tide shrinks. I
believe that the shrinking of the tide (4) symbolizes the suspension of the
speakers tears.
From lines five to nine the speaker talks about the changing of time.
Even with the changing of time the speakers heartbreak does not fade away.
Snow melting is somber because it signifies the end of a season. Smoke is a
nuisance and it is caused by the beautiful autumn leaves that have begun to
decay, so they are burned. This also signifies the passing of time. But last
years bitter loving must remain (7) implies that the speakers lover has
been deceased for over a year. Even though over a year has passed the
speaker still has heart ache and is bitter over her aching heart. The speakers
heart ache is always with her, she can never seem to displace it from her.
The thoughts of the speakers lover are constantly residing in her mind.

The speaker fears to travel places where her lover and she have been.
The speaker has a phobia of going these places because they only remind
the speaker of her deceased lover. The speaker goes to a place where her
lover has never been to escape the painful memories of him.
Whiteside 3
The speaker thinks that since he never was there his memory cannot haunt
her in these places. However, thinking about him never being there makes
the speaker ponder if her lover would have enjoyed it. This in turn makes the
speaker reminisce about her lover even more. The speaker cannot get her
lover off the forefront of her mind, no matter where she goes. If the speaker
cannot stop thinking about her lover then her heart ache will always remain.
This poem is a Percheron Sonnet written in iambic pentameter. Iambic
pentameter has five beats per line with stressed and unstressed syllables,
yet Millay strays from iambic pentameter variously throughout the poem.
The first eight lines are an octave with the rhyme scheme of abbaabba. The
last six lines of the poem are a sestet that contains a rhyme scheme of
cdeecd. This rhyme scheme is often used in Percheron Sonnets.
The speaker uses many negative connotations throughout the poem.
The speaker especially uses negative connotation when describing the
passing of time. The speaker talks about leaves becoming smoke and snow
going away, which are times where seasons end. The ending of things is
almost always accompanied with a negative connotation. The speaker uses

the word bitter to emphasis the hurt she felt last year due to the loss of her
lover. Stricken used in line fourteen has a very negative connotation. Stricken
is usually accompanied by the word grief, which is immense sadness.
I chose this poem to explicate due to the fact that it deals with
heartbreak. Heartbreak is a universal theme that I believe everyone will
experience in their lifetime. It also shows another side to the term Time
heals all. This poem explores what it feels like when time does
Whiteside 4
not ease the pain. Time is valuable and many people believe that with the
passing of time memories of pain will slowly fade away; however, sometimes
these memories do not just simply fade away.

Works Cited
St. Vincent Millay, Edna. Time does not bring relief. Poetry Foundation.
Harriet Monroe
Poetry Institute, 2004. Web. 29, 3 2015.