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Does anyone know when this poem was written?

 
 
nick17
 
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 06:36 am
I know its a long-shot, but i cant find a date for this poem anywhere. So I just wondered if anyone knew what date this poem was written.


Contiencious Objector
I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death.
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall; I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste; he has business in Cuba, business in the Balkans, many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle while he clinches the girth.
And he may mount by hinmself: I will not give him a leg up.

Though he flick my shoulders with his whip, I will not tell him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast, I will not tell him where the black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death; I am not on his pay-roll.

I will not tell him the whereabout of my friends nor of my enemies either.
Though he promise me much, I will not map him the route to any man's door.
Am I a spy in the land of the living, that I should deliver men to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of our city are safe with me; never through me
Shall you be overcome.

by-- Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Three P
 
  1  
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 06:51 am
This poignant poem was written by Edna St Vincent Millay, in 1931.
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Three P
 
  1  
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 07:06 am
Nick, I've found a link for this poem, and others by Millay.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jmillay.htm
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nick17
 
  1  
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 07:31 am
thanks very much Three P, appreciate your help
0 Replies
 
Three P
 
  1  
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 07:38 am
Think nothing of it, Nick. Laughing
I first came across Millay when studying the works of Owen, Sassoon and other "peace" poets, as part of my Literature degree.

Millay, along with other peace poets of her time, was greatly influenced by the horrors of the First World War.

Later on, she became something of a patriot, writing several rousing poems for her fellow countrymen during the course of the second World War.

Many peace poets have been vilified over the years and, who knows, maybe this is part of the reason for her chamge of heart.

When all is said and done, however, the question remains : Can you enjoy a good poem if it's sentiments do not appeal to you?
Is it possible to separate a writer's qualities from his or her beliefs?
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Lord Ellpus
 
  1  
Reply Wed 20 Sep, 2006 12:38 am
bm
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