Millay

Millay is a surname most prominently associated with Edna St. Vincent Millay, an American poet and playwright who helped shape American modernist poetry in the early 20th century. She is remembered for a concise, lyrical style and for addressing themes of love, individuality, and social conscience.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was born February 22, 1892, in Rockland, Maine. She gained early acclaim with Renascence (1912), a long lyric poem that circulated widely and established her as a rising literary figure. She studied at Vassar College, and her work drew attention in New York’s literary circles, where she became known for her sharp, musical verse and fearless voice on personal and political topics.

A Few Figs from Thistles (1920) and The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (1922) are among her best-known works. The latter earned Millay the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, making her the first woman to win the prize. Her poetry from this period is characterized by formal control, image-rich language, and an emphasis on moral independence and emotional immediacy. A widely cited line from her early work—“My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night”—is often used to illustrate her economical, forceful style.

Millay continued to publish poetry and drama into the 1920s and 1930s and remained a prominent public figure until her death in 1950. The name Millay thus serves as shorthand for a body of work that is studied for its craft, emotional clarity, and significance in American literary history.