Lament

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1923

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

The 22-line poem, written in free verse and structured into a single stanza, is considered a dirge. A dirge is a song, hymn, or lamentation expressing grief. While she is addressing her children, the mother’s lament is more of a soliloquy than a dialogue. A soliloquy in literature is when a speaker engages in the act of talking to oneself, whereas a dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. The poem’s form conveys the idea that the children may not even be present at the time the mother is speaking—in any case, they are not given a voice in the poem. This implies that perhaps the mother is practicing what she will say to their children upon their return home. The use of free verse allows the mother’s speech to take on a more natural tone as she addresses her children.

While there is no formal metering to the poem, Millay utilizes parallel structure as part of the poem’s form. Parallel structure is the use of the same word pattern to show that two or more ideas have the same level of meaning. Throughout “Lament,” Millay uses the same structure in multiple lines. Each line of the poem contains four to seven syllables, with the majority of the lines consisting of four to five words each. Only the opening line “Listen, children:” (Line 1) consists of only two words. Only the lines “Things he used to put there” (Line 8) and “To make a pretty noise with” (Line 14) consist of six words, the most words used in one of the poem’s single lines.

Repetition

Millay makes use of repetition in her poem, targeting specific words and phrases to “move” the poem forward. She starts at the poem’s beginning when the mother repeats the clause “I’ll make you little” (Lines 3, 4) in two subsequent lines. The repetition of the clause “I’ll make you” (Lines 3, 4) reinforces the idea that the mother is taking control of the situation and her family after the father’s death. The repetition of the word “little” (Lines 3, 4) solidifies not only the idea that her children are still small and dependent upon her, but also that her husband’s remaining clothing articles can be reduced and repurposed into something helpful for their children. This reduction and repurposing is one way that the mother passes on the father’s legacy to his children.

The mother repeats the word “keys” (Lines 9, 13) and “pennies” (Lines 9, 11), twice each. The repetition of the word “keys” (Lines 9, 13) introduces the theme of security, since keys are a security mechanism. This repetition also enforces the idea that the father was the family’s protector. The repetition of the word “pennies” (Lines 9, 11) introduces the mother’s concern about the family’s financial future. The father seems to have been the family’s provider, and she is ensuring a financial future by bequeathing the pennies to Dan, the son.

The speaker repeats the phrase “Life must go on” (Lines 15, 17, 21) three times as the poem concludes. This repetition conveys the speaker’s attempt to move forward from her husband’s death. Society expects her to do so in order to provide for her fatherless children. The repetition reinforces death’s cruelty as well as daily life’s continuance despite a loved one’s absence.

Rhyme

Written in free verse, the poem does not have an obvious rhyme or metering structure. However, Millay adds strategic rhyming to the poem, particularly at the conclusion of the poem. Throughout the poem, the repetition of some words, such as “pennies” (Lines 9, 11) and “on” (Lines 15, 17, 21) add a basic rhyme to the poem, although more to emphasize a thought process. However, as the poem concludes, the speaker states, “Life must go on, / Though good men die” (Lines 17-18), which later rhymes with the poem’s final two lines, in which the speaker reiterates “Life must go on; / I forget just why” (Lines 21-22). This forms the poem’s only true rhyme, which significantly coincides with the single moment of the mother’s grief in the poem. While the mother seems to be able to put her feelings aside for the first 21 lines of the poem, focusing on what must be done in short, halting statements and orders that consist of two- to six-word lines, the final line breaks this pattern. Instead, with this single rhyme, which perhaps comes as a relief to the reader, the mother briefly expresses the grief that has been hidden in the previous lines, finally questioning the point of life when a husband and father is lost. The enormity of the loss is revealed in that last line, and the smooth, neat rhyme not only draws the reader’s attention to this revelation, but gives an emotional release from the harsh, stunted, unrhyming lines that worked so neatly to hold in the mother’s grief.