We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
In the opening lines to St. Vincent Millay’s poem, she describes a sensation that is likely familiar to all readers. She explains that she and her friend had ridden the ferry ride all night long. She proclaims that they were at once “very tired” and “very merry.” In these opening lines, Millay intends to capture that unusual sensation where you are indescribably tired and yet inexplicably happy and content. In this way, the opening lines of this poem captures the immense beauty and enjoyment that can be found in the simplest of events. Though these two friends were merely riding the ferry all night long, this experience instilled in these two people an incredible, memorable experience—which was founded in the simplest of events.
For my omniscience paid I toll In infinite remorse of soul.
Prior to these revealing lines, the narrator explains how she has become privy to the vast and infitie secrets of the world and universe—of past, present, and future. In this quotation, the narrator then comments on the vast toll such insight, knowledge, and omniscience can take on a person. The narrator hints that she is haunted by this omniscient understanding and suggests that such an intense and in-depth understanding is harrowing. In these quotations, therefore, the narrator comments on the fact that ignorance really is bliss. Humans were never meant to bear the burden of omniscience and infinite knowledge. Rather, we are meant to function within our finite understanding of the universe and of the past, present, and future. Therefore, in this quotation, the narrator captures to heartbreak and immense sorrow that can haunt a person when they breach the boundary between Heaven and Earth.
A man was starving in Capri;
He moved his eyes and looked at me;
I felt his gaze, I heard his moan,
And knew his hunger as my own.
I saw at sea a great fog bank
Between two ships that struck and sank;
A thousand screams the heavens smote;
And every scream tore through my throat.
In this quotation, the narrator once again speaks to the incredible burden that is placed on the shoulders of any individual who gains total omniscience and as able to breach the barrier between Heaven, Earth, and God. In other words, this lengthy quotation captures the overwhelming, inescapable sorrow that will be felt by anyone who aims to gain total omniscience over Heaven and Earth. Though total omniscience may at first appear to be an appealing state of existence, the narrator in this quotation comments on the fact that, just as omniscience provides you access to immense understanding of the past, present, and future it also forces you to experience the anguish of existence. Just as you will learn the secrets of the universe, of the past, present, and future, so will you experience the anguish and heartbreak of every individual on the planet; of every starving or drowning man/woman. As a result, in this quotation the narrator captures the anguish of total omniscience and points out that one cannot access the total knowledge of universe without also taking on all the anguish of humanity.
Think, so near the public highway,
Well frequented even then!
Can you not conceive the sly way, —
Hearing wheels or seeing men
Passing on the road above, —
With a gesture feigned and silly,
Ere she drowned herself for love,
She would reach to pluck a lily?
In these closing stanzas, the narrator commented on the total waste of this young woman’s life. The narrator aims to capture how even the simplest of actions—such as picking a lily after heartbreak—can result in loss of life and sorrow. The narrator also questions how such a tragic incident could occur in a place that was frequented by cars and passerby. In short, these stanzas capture the fact that this young woman lost her life over something so silly and useless and reaching for a lily because she had her heart broken. The narrator aims to point out how seemingly simple objects and events can result in massive loss of life—a waste of a life.
