"What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why," first published in 1920 in Vanity Fair, is an Italian sonnet written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and feminist Edna St. Vincent Millay. In the poem, a speaker looks back on her previous loves and lovers whom she has forgotten. The speaker is tormented by the loss of her memories of love and regrets having loved at all. Millay purposefully uses the form of an Italian sonnet, a form that traditionally honors and exalts love, to question whether it is worth it to love at all.
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The Full Text of “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)”
1What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
2I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
3Under my head till morning; but the rain
4Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
5Upon the glass and listen for reply,
6And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
7For unremembered lads that not again
8Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
9Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,
10Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
11Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
12I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
13I only know that summer sang in me
14A little while, that in me sings no more.
The Full Text of “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)”
1What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
2I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
3Under my head till morning; but the rain
4Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
5Upon the glass and listen for reply,
6And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
7For unremembered lads that not again
8Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
9Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,
10Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
11Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
12I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
13I only know that summer sang in me
14A little while, that in me sings no more.
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Summary
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Themes
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Love, Memory, and Loss
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)”
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Lines 1-2
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, -
Lines 2-3
and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; -
Lines 3-5
but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply, -
Lines 6-8
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry. -
Lines 9-11
Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before: -
Line 12
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
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Lines 13-14
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Symbols
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Ghosts
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The Tree
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Seasons
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Metaphor
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Imagery
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Personification
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Synecdoche
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Assonance
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Lain
- Unremembered
- Lads
- Boughs
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Speaker
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)”
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More “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet 43)” Resources
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External Resources
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Edna St. Vincent Millay's Life Story — A biography from the Poetry Foundation.
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The Italian Sonnet — A breakdown of the Italian—a.k.a. Petrarchan—sonnet, the form followed by Millay in this poem.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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A Musical Adaptation — Listen to the entire poem set to music.
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Love Letters — A look at Edna St. Vincent Millay's polyamorous love letters from the 1920s.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay
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