Maryann Hartman High School Essay Contest 2019 Winner
Neily Raymond is a junior at Hermon High School, where she serves as Editor of the Key Club, is a member of the National Honor Society, and performs regularly in dramatic productions. She is currently leading efforts to revive the school’s show choir, and is known for always having a book in hand. Neily hopes to pursue an interdisciplinary college major that integrates the study of literature with her passion for performing arts. In recognition of her outstanding essay, which is printed in entirety below, she will receive a one-time scholarship to the University of Maine.
Here is her essay:
Essay Topic: What Maine Feminist Inspires You?
Edna St. Vincent Millay: Vim, Vigor, and Verse
by Neily K. Raymond
GROWN-UP
WAS it for this I uttered prayers and sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That now, domestic as a plate, I should retire at half-past eight?
Perhaps you are struck, as I was, by the sauciness of this poem. This is even more surprising when one considers that it was written by a woman in the early twentieth century: Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose poems, admittedly, remain a staple in high school English classes everywhere. Believe me; I would know. Millay was, in her time, not only one of the most prolific poets in America, but also a beloved icon of the feminist movement. It is hard to wrap one’s mind around how a young woman from Rockland, Maine, could rise to such cultural significance. The answer lies in the previous poem; in its clear discontent with society’s expectations of female domesticity. Millay’s incorporation of feminist ideals into her poetry harnessed the incredible power art possesses in inspiring emotion and therefore enacting forceful societal change.
Millay, born in Rockland in 1892, was raised by a single mother, who not only single-handedly supported her family but provided her daughters with a strong literary and artistic education. Young Edna’s poetic talent was discovered by the public when she entered a poetry contest with her poem “Renascence”, resulting in funds to continue her education. Her work found its way into publications such as Vanity Fair and eventually into her own volumes of poetry.
Millay was a vocal proponent of equality for women and human rights, and became the third woman to ever win the Pulitzer prize for poetry, in 1923. However, I am most inspired by her revolutionary use of poetry to fuel the feminist movement. Transcending the societal norms of the time, many of Millay’s poems focused on the rejection of traditional gender expectations. For instance, in her poem titled “I, Being born a Woman and Distressed”, Millay writes: “I, being born a woman and distressed by all the needs and notions of my kind, am urged by your propinquity to find your person fair, and feel a certain zest to bear your body’s weight upon my breast…”
Here, Millay unabashedly states the accepted belief of the era that women are emotional and irrational, naturally inclined to throw themselves upon men in throes of desire. Millay satirizes the unspoken “needs and notions” that society impresses on women; by blatantly stating these ideas, she breaks the unspoken taboo around them and illustrates their ludicrousness. Millay’s works were avant-garde in that they unapologetically presented women as humans with needs, desires, and a sense of adventure; their emotions and experiences just as legitimate as those of men.
Much of Millay’s poetry was published at the height of the progressive movement, in which thousands rallied for social reform in areas including the destruction of misogynist societal structures and beliefs. It is no surprise, then, that her works quickly became a national sensation and Millay herself an icon of the female counterculture movement of the 1920’s: a flapper, of sorts, and the epitome of the “Modern Woman”.
As a passionate musician, performer, and writer myself, I appreciate the emotional power that art imparts. I am awed by Millay’s skillful use of poetry to spread feminist ideals. As she deftly wove ideas of female empowerment into her poetry, Millay elevated the idea of feminism from a simple concept to a rallying cry. Her poetry spurs the reader not only to understand the point she is making, but to feel the injustice themselves, and take action. Millay has motivated not only myself, but an entire generation, to fight for gender equality.
From the iconic image of Rosie the Riveter to the women’s suffrage Schoolhouse Rock song I loved in third grade, art has inspired, and continues to inspire, leagues of people to stand for female equality. Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poetry embodies the very spirit of feminism. It not only bravely spread the message of equal rights in the early 20th century, but remains relevant today as we continue to fight for just treatment regardless of gender. Art as a tool for social change should not be overlooked, and I am proud that Millay, one of its greatest proponents, hailed from our state. I am sure that some of that Mainer grit contributed to the achievements of one of the most influential feminists of our time.