Presenter(s): Martha DeCosta—English (major) and Creative Writing (minor)
Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton
Session 3: Beyond a Melody
The image of the ideal mother as a self-sacrificial caretaker for her children echoes in Edna St . Vincent Millay’s Pulitzer Prize winning poem “The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver”: “She sang as she worked, / And the harp-strings spoke; Her voice never faltered, / And the thread never broke .” Although deserving of its high praise and reception, this sentimental ballad’s appearance in The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems collection seems somewhat incongruous, given the nature with which Millay’s other poems explore the roles of motherhood . She depicts speakers who regard children, or the absence of children, with detachment and pity for their unsettled lives, reinforcing underlying anxiety or association with death and suffering . This volume deals with darker themes such as domestic violence, neglect, and imagined realities, embodying various forms of motherhood and not a traditional depiction of gentleness and love . Much of the excitement and the controversy surrounding Millay focuses on her bisexuality and compelling voice for the early twentieth century’s New Woman . However, critical lenses historically discuss her poetic themes in connection with her biographical background . They leave unexplored gaps in their research by minimalizing or overlooking her poetic representations of alternate women’s roles . To enhance and expand the larger and perhaps limited literary discourse about motherhood in The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems, I analyze Millay’s portrayal of a haunting maternal presence throughout this unique volume .