First Fig Essay Questions

Why might Millay have chosen to keep this poem so short?

The speaker celebrates her intense and passionate lifestyle despite knowing that she cannot sustain it in the long run. Her message is further intensified by the shortness of the poem. This poem also serves as a short introduction to the collection as a whole by portraying a woman who does not conform to society's notion of an ideal woman.

What is significant about the groups of people the speaker addresses?

In the third line of the poem, the speaker addresses both her enemies and her friends, remarking to them how beautiful the light coming from her candle is. The fact that the speaker has "foes" in the first place shows that her lifestyle is public, uncompromising, and controversial. Though speakers and poets should not be conflated, this poem applies to Millay's own life. She loved socializing and partying, and she made both friends and enemies. The use of alliteration with the "m" and "f" sounds in "my foes" and "my friends" places these two groups on equal footing. The speaker wishes to be witnessed by everyone regardless of past animosities.

Give examples of literary devices that Millay uses in this poem.

The candle burning at both ends is an idiom and extended metaphor used in the poem to represent the speaker's short-lived and passionate lifestyle. In the first two lines, the speaker develops the image of the candle by describing how it burns at both ends and will not last the night. Millay also employs alliteration throughout the poem. For example, the alliteration of the "b" sound in "my candle burns at both ends" places emphasis on the image by creating a rhythmic quality to the words, as though it were natural and inevitable for the speaker's candle to be lit this way. The repetition of the "m" and "f" sounds in "my foes" and "my friends" places these two groups on equal standing. In the final line, the alliteration of the "l" sound in "lovely light" demonstrates the light's beauty.

The use of rhyme also gives the poem a rhythmic quality. The word "ends" becomes "friends," which shows how the speaker is making something good from a situation that others would perceive as negative. The same can be said for "night" becoming "light," which demonstrates a transition from darkness to light.