Pity me not because the light of day
At close of day no longer walks the sky;
Pity me not for beauties passed away
From field and thicket as the the year goes by;
Pity me not the waning of the moon,
Nor that the ebbing tide goes out to sea,
Nor that a man’s desire is hushed so soon,
And you no longer look with love on me.
This have I known always: Love is no more
Than the wide blossom which the wind assails,
Than the great tide that treads the shifting shore,
Strewing fresh wreckage gathered in the gales:
Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
What the swift mind beholds at ever turn
.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem Pity Me Not Because The Light Of Day

6 Comments

  1. Amanuel says:

    1,what is the speaker of the poem?
    2,what represent the word “me”?
    3,what beauty compaared with?
    4,has the writer objct to love?
    5,identify the sex of tjhe writer? put evidence.

  2. Jessica says:

    This poem is quite amazing, I just cant get my mind to wrap around the setting of this poem. Can anyone out there help me?

  3. Joy says:

    exquisite poem…and saddening.
    “And you no longer look with love on me.”

  4. Lisa says:

    I had to memorize and analyze this poem in the 9th grade. It has become dear to me. The key to this poem is in it’s last two lines: pity me that the heart is slow to learn what the swift mind beholds at every turn. How many times have I followed my heart, despite what my brain was telling me, only to be hurt? This poem so distinctly encapsulates the daily wonders that we so appreciate but often miss. But missing these wonders is nothing for those of us who follow our hearts over our minds in life, and that it is a pity that our hearts often overwhelm what is so obvious to the mind. Love over logic. Loss and pain which could be prevented if only we’d follow logic, not our emotions.

  5. Carrie says:

    This poem/sonnet is telling people not to pity her because love comes and goes, like many things in nature, but to pity her because all though she knows love will end, her heart doesn’t and she keeps getting hurt again and agian. She compares love to many things in nature to show that beauty and time come and go, much like love does.

  6. quinton says:

    i wanted to know what in the hell is this poem trying to say. im suppose to be writing what it means but i really surley dont know i just want to ask you what is the tone and main idea of the poem what are you trying to tell the readers

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