I Will Put Chaos Into Fourteen Lines

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1949

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Lines

When the speaker mentions “fourteen lines” (Line 1) at the beginning of Millay’s poem, they are referring to a specific poetic form: the sonnet. The sonnet, with its 14 lines, provides a specific structure. It is a set “plan” the speaker works within to contain and control Chaos. In addition to “lines” of poetry (Line 1), “lines” are also geometric units. A line is “a straight or curved geometric element that is generated by a moving point and that has extension only along the path of the point” (“Line.” Merriam-Webster, 2022). These geometric units indicate boundaries, helping to form shapes, charts, maps, etc. In this geometric sense as well, then, lines wall in Chaos to “keep him there” (Line 2). They are used as the “confines” (Line 5) to tame Chaos by forming specific parameters and a specific “sweet order” (Line 6) in which he can exist. Lines provide limits and barriers that maintain a sense of discipline and direction.

Demon

In the poem, the speaker lists “demon” (Line 4) as one of the effects of Chaos along with “Flood” and “fire” (Line 4). The speaker considers all of these to be part of Chaos’s “adroit designs” (Line 4). By including “demon” in this list, the speaker equates this entity with these destructive forces. A demon is the antithesis of an angelic being. In the Christian tradition, a demon is a fallen angel who has turned their back on God and chosen to follow Satan instead. A more colloquial understanding of a demon identifies it as an evil or supernatural spirit, one that causes harm, destruction, or distress. The demon serves as the perfect symbol for Chaos, as this is exactly what Chaos endeavors to do. Chaos serves as a harbinger for demolition and annihilation, just as any demonic force would strive to enact.

Hours/Years

After the first eight lines of Millay’s poem where the speaker describes confining Chaos, the volta, or shift, occurs where the content changes focus and direction. The speaker notes, “Past are the hours, the years of our duress” (Line 9). “Hours” and “years” are units of time representing an individual’s passage through experience and life in general. Throughout time, an individual will go through a plethora of both positive and negative events. This concept of fortune’s wheel, or Rota Fortunae, can be traced back to classical philosophy and was an idea prevalent in literature of the Middle Ages “referring to the capricious nature of Fate” (“Rota Fortunae.” English Encyclopedia. 2022). Fortune’s wheel spins “at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel—some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls” (“Rota Fortunae.”). Throughout life, one will always have the ups (Order) and the downs (Chaos) and will have to find a way to balance the two. One cannot exist without the other.