I have a masssssssive sonnet analysis due for English Thursday and I was looking it over today and I have no idea where to start.

I will put Chaos into fourteen lines
And keep him there; and let him thence escape
If he be lucky; let him twist, and ape
Flood, fire, and demon --- his adroit designs
Will strain to nothing in the strict confines
Of this sweet order, where, in pious rape,
I hold his essence and amorphous shape,
Till he with Order mingles and combines.
Past are the hours, the years of our duress,
His arrogance, our awful servitude:
I have him. He is nothing more nor less
Than something simple not yet understood;
I shall not even force him to confess;
Or answer. I will only make him good.

Soo, here's what my teacher told us we should do. Our commentary won't have the answers numbered out, rather all of these are supposed to be incorporated into it.

1. Read the poem, marking the meter and rhyme scheme (I did this ;D)
2. Identify the type of sonnet (rather weird, but it's Italian/Petrarchan)
3. Colormark the Sonnet*
4. Explain the theme pertaining to the containment of Chaos, citing imagery to support your ideas.
5. Discuss the effect of personification in the poem.
6. Identify the poem's tone.
7. State the theme for the poem in one complete sentence.

*Okay colormarking is basically dissecting the poem. It's highlighting or showing what different literary elements are found in the poem. Then it's writing a commentary explaining the intent of the poem and how the author establishes this intent. But.. you can ignore the writing part. Here is an example of one I did. It's not very good, but it's still an example I guess. http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1858/co...gexample3sb.png

Anyway.
Basically I guess I need help to find out what the poem means, and what literary elements (imagery, metaphors, paradox, allusions, motifs etc.) are contained in it? I have no idea what the poem means at all. I also have no idea what the theme is at all ):

The reason this sonnet is challenging is that its subject is unusual. When you have looked at other sonnets, at 'classes' of sonnets, you have found that they typically deal with sex (courtly love) or grief or observations on one's nation or one's 'age' (in time), or other subjects of contemplation. There have been sonnets about poetry (e.g. Keats 'On the Sonnet'!) but it's not a common theme.

They are very formal and poets have had a lot of fun with them. Millay is definitely having a lot of fun with this one!

Her thesis (idea) expressed in the first eight lines is that chaos (disorder; spontaneous 'primitive' utterances) can be given form. That is the poet's challenge.

She personifies the elemental disorder as some 'him', a male figure, and since Millay is female, there is an interesting parallel you may want (or not) to explore: is the chaos of words, which the poet must order and tame, analagous to the rude and elemental male, whom the female struggles to re-form?

She uses the word 'ape' as a verb, and in that sense it simply means 'imitate'. But this choice of words re-inforces the notion of the energy and crudeness of the raw material with which the artist (the woman) must struggle.

The resolution (in the last six lines) is a celebration of order (imposed form) over chaos. Her formula for success seems to be that careful analysis will wring from the raw material the refined meaning which is implicit.

Reminds me of the Greek notion (recalled later by Michelangelo) that within the tough block of marble lies the hidden form of the sculpture. Through hard labor, the sculptor liberates it.

Please do no use my raw ideas in your essay. You may want to integrate them into whatever analysis you make. Like Millay, you should make the work your own. I just hope this helps you with the 'jumping off point' for the last part of your essay.

Georgie asks:

"So my theory that she is writing about something going on in her world is probably way off base then? I was thinking she may have been referencing WWII."

Poetry is subject to interpretation. I cannot say that your interpretation is not the right one.

Let us hope others will reply to this post.

I don't have alot to add here, but I also believe that this is a poem about writing a poem (or poetry).

just did a search online and found THIS

The one paragraph also talks about writing about poetry, but expands on that. Obviously, you can't use that verbatum in your analysis, but might give you a good idea the thought process to use?

Good luck!