|
Poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay
Poem: Second Fig
Comment 7 of 7, added on February 5th, 2008 at 5:06 PM.
I do agree with Liz and Melissa. Also, Second Fig is a reiteration of First Fig. In both poems time or the lack of time is apparent. It is better to have happiness and do what you choose for a lesser time than feel contentedness( by content I mean be Ok with what you have but not exactly overjoyed), safety and boredom for a much longer time. In other words, better to have had and lost, than never to have had at all. Even if being extremely happy for a short while means you will be devastatingly miserable when it ends, I believe one will learn more about life, one will be more passionate about their experiences.
Personally, I have felt both ends of the spectrum and would never ever settle for the house on solid rock! As much as I love to be happy I welcome the down side as well because when the happiness comes again it's even better than the last time. Feeling different emotions makes you a better person. Today many people look to mask how they feel-no one is growing or handling life and certainly not preparing the next generation to deal with life's issues. It is either politically incorrect to talk about certain issues or drug prescriptions are handed out like candy so one does not have to be aware they care in the first place.
Actually, I have always loved both of these poems, long before I added all the other thoughts they provoked. I just thought they meant being free!
Nicole from United States
Comment 6 of 7, added on March 14th, 2007 at 1:01 AM.
I believe she is refrencing the Bible. The new testament talks about building your house upon a solid rock (Jesus Christ) or upon the sand (the world). The houses on the rock have a firm foundation and won't be destroyed when the storms come. The house that is built upon the sand, however, will be destroyed during the storms. From her perspective, the houses on the rock were ugly and her house upon the sand was a shining palace. Unfortunately, the knew that through the storms (the very hard times she went through in her life and then her death) it would amount to nothing.
Cristina from United States
Comment 5 of 7, added on January 14th, 2006 at 1:33 PM.
I believe this poem to be a comentary about her life, while everyone else builds their lives upon safe foundations of 9-5 jobs, marriage, children, she leads a wonderful, promiscuous, adventurous life that holds no securities, like sand ^_^
Dan S
Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Second Fig , has received 7 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay with others on the American Poems poetry forum!
|
Comments
I do agree with Liz and Melissa. Also, Second Fig is a reiteration of First Fig. In both poems time or the lack of time is apparent. It is better to have happiness and do what you choose for a lesser time than feel contentedness( by content I mean be Ok with what you have but not exactly overjoyed), safety and boredom for a much longer time. In other words, better to have had and lost, than never to have had at all. Even if being extremely happy for a short while means you will be devastatingly miserable when it ends, I believe one will learn more about life, one will be more passionate about their experiences.
Personally, I have felt both ends of the spectrum and would never ever settle for the house on solid rock! As much as I love to be happy I welcome the down side as well because when the happiness comes again it's even better than the last time. Feeling different emotions makes you a better person. Today many people look to mask how they feel-no one is growing or handling life and certainly not preparing the next generation to deal with life's issues. It is either politically incorrect to talk about certain issues or drug prescriptions are handed out like candy so one does not have to be aware they care in the first place.
Actually, I have always loved both of these poems, long before I added all the other thoughts they provoked. I just thought they meant being free!
Nicole from United States