First Fig

Quiz — First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay

1. Recall – Form: How many lines does "First Fig" contain, and how does its compact length reinforce the poem's central message?

1. Recall – Speaker & Tone: How does the speaker address both her friends and her enemies, and what does treating them equally in the same breath suggest about her attitude?

1. Recall – Central Metaphor: What well-known saying does Millay adapt as the poem's central image, and how does she transform its traditional meaning?

1. Recall – Symbol: According to the analysis, what does the candle's light represent in terms of what the speaker offers the world?

1. Recall – Symbol: What does "the night" symbolize in the poem, particularly in relation to human mortality and legacy?

1. Comprehension – Tone: The speaker is described as defiant yet celebratory rather than reckless or naive. What evidence from the analysis supports the idea that she fully understands the consequences of her choices?

1. Comprehension – Historical Context: In what way did "First Fig" function as a cultural anthem when it was published in 1920, and for whom?

1. Comprehension – Collection Context: How does the title of Millay's 1920 collection connect to a biblical source, and what significance does that give to "First Fig" as the opening poem?

1. Analysis – Theme: The poem engages with themes of both beauty and mortality simultaneously. How do the candle and light symbols work together to express the idea that a short but brilliant life is preferable to a long but dim one?

1. Analysis – Voice & Identity: How does the poem's closing exclamation point, combined with the speaker's unapologetic address to foes and friends alike, establish Millay's broader identity as the voice of a new kind of American woman in the 1920s?

Answer Key

1. "First Fig" is only four lines long. Its extreme brevity mirrors the poem's argument: a life that burns brilliantly and briefly is more valuable than a long, cautious one — the form enacts the theme.

1. The speaker addresses both foes and friends in the same breath and with the same tone, treating them as equal witnesses to her life. This suggests she neither seeks approval from friends nor fears judgment from enemies; her choices are entirely her own.

1. Millay adapts the cautionary saying about burning a candle at both ends, traditionally a warning against overindulgence. She transforms it into a proud, celebratory admission, reclaiming what was once a rebuke as a declaration of bold living.

1. The light represents the speaker's art, passion, presence, and influence — the vibrant essence of her life that she shares with the world.

1. Night symbolizes both the brief duration of a human life and the darkness of obscurity, death, and eventual forgetting. It underscores that the candle's brilliance, however short-lived, shines beautifully against that inevitable darkness.

1. The analysis explicitly notes that the speaker fully understands the consequences and knows her way of living will lead to a quicker burnout. Her defiance is informed and intentional, not ignorant — she accepts the trade-off consciously.

1. The poem became an anthem for young women in the 1920s who were actively challenging Victorian ideals of feminine restraint and self-sacrifice, offering them a concise, unapologetic statement of bold, independent selfhood.

1. The collection's title references the biblical Book of Matthew, where figs represent the outcomes of one's choices. "First Fig" thus functions as a bold opening statement of intent — the speaker's chosen way of life is the first and most defining "fruit" she presents.

1. The candle symbolizes the speaker's finite life energy, while the light represents the beauty and influence she radiates. Together they argue that the quality and brilliance of a life — its light — matter more than its length, directly linking aesthetic beauty to the acceptance of mortality.

1. The exclamation point frames the poem's ending as a joyful dare rather than a lament, and the equal address to friends and enemies alike signals total self-possession. Combined with Millay's openly unconventional life, this voice helped establish her as the spokesperson for a generation of women rejecting convention and defining themselves on their own terms.