Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The speaker is likely a woman who, like Millay, lives authentically and controversially.
Form and Meter
The poem consists of a quatrain written in common meter: alternating between eight and six syllable lines that follow an iambic stress pattern
Metaphors and Similes
The candle burning at both ends is an extended metaphor for living a full life.
Alliteration and Assonance
Alliteration
-"My candle burns at both ends" (Line 1): The "b" sound repeats.
-"But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—" (Line 3): The "m" and "f" sounds successively repeat in the phrase "my foes" and "my friends."
-"It gives a lovely light!" (Line 4): The "l" sound repeats.
Irony
N/A
Genre
Lyric, Ballad, Carpe Diem
Setting
The setting is unspecified, but the poem concerns the speaker's life, so it can be said that the setting is the speaker's inner thoughts.
Tone
Assertive, Celebratory, Passionate
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the speaker and her commitment to living the way she chooses. The antagonist is the speaker's inevitable death or burnout.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the poem is that the speaker knows that her lifestyle is unsustainable. However, she diffuses this conflict by appreciating the metaphorical light of her candle rather than dreading the future.
Climax
The climax occurs in the final line when the speaker proclaims how lovely her light is.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The figs in the title allude to the collection as a whole.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
Hyperbole
N/A
Onomatopoeia
N/A
