Comment closely on the presentation of sorrow in the following poem. 'The Buck in the
Snow'
St Vincent Millay powerfully portrays the tragedy of the futility and unpredictability of life
through a mundane illustration of the death of a buck, surrounded by the bleak frigidity of
winter. She thus conveys sorrow and empathy for the animal, subtly commenting on the
cruelty of humanity as well.
To begin with, she vividly sets the stage on which nature’s ‘performance’ takes place outside
her window. She links the “white” of the sky to a blank canvas, while also creating a sense of
foreboding; nature is lifeless and unmoving, almost clinical, something which readers later
associate with the unnatural precision of the buck’s death. Moreover, the first stanza has a
cyclical nature, beginning and ending with a reference to the “hemlocks bowed with snow”.
This creates a sense of weight which enhances the underlying atmosphere of ominousness,
highlighted by the associations of poison through the word “hemlock”, thus conveying the
omnipresence of danger and death. The fact that it is “the beginning of evening” also
enhances a sense of uncertainty, almost as if resembling the beginning of the end. This
quiet, isolated background is interrupted with movement, shown through the lilting
alliteration in the phrase “long leaps lovely and slow”, demonstrating the vitality of the deer
in contrast with the coldness and stillness of the setting.
The poet arguably brags about her privilege in witnessing such a raw moment. She
addresses the readers, “saw you not..?” and repeats “I saw them. I saw them…”, showing
how the moment is both private and exposed, emphasising the quiet and seclusion of the
scene; readers can vividly picture the poet looking beyond her “apple-orchard”, unmoving so
as not to break the spell of the moment. The orchard serves as a mundane connection of
humanity with nature, acting as a barrier and allowing the poet to view the scene from a
distance.
The magic of the image is then interrupted through the monostich in the middle of the
poem, which acts as a liminal, severing the vivacity of life and conveying the sombre death
of the animal. This demarcation is curiously written so as to illustrate the beauty rather than
violence of death, creating a tragic rather than gruesome image. The poet does this so as to
strip the scene of all traces of humanity, so that the death of the animal is not tainted by the
selfishness of human interests. Even in death, the buck’s blood remains “wild”, showing how
it remains strong, unconquered and free, “scalding the snow”, defying the cold itself.
Furthermore, the tragic aftermath of the buck’s death is shown through the poet’s
downward philosophical spiral. There is anaphora in the phrases “how strange a thing…” and
“bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers”, creating a sense of nobility in the fall of
something grand. The rhyme ceases, the previous unity and composure of the first stanza is
erased, replaced by a seemingly continuous stream of consciousness as the poet processes
what she sees. The standalone line “The buck in the snow” breaks the structure and
immortalises the animal, showing how the poet is removed from her trance and is almost in
disbelief as her detachment to morphs into empathy and sorrow, similarly to the doe.
Nature is then portrayed to be mourning the death of its own: “heavy hemlocks… shift their
Snow'
St Vincent Millay powerfully portrays the tragedy of the futility and unpredictability of life
through a mundane illustration of the death of a buck, surrounded by the bleak frigidity of
winter. She thus conveys sorrow and empathy for the animal, subtly commenting on the
cruelty of humanity as well.
To begin with, she vividly sets the stage on which nature’s ‘performance’ takes place outside
her window. She links the “white” of the sky to a blank canvas, while also creating a sense of
foreboding; nature is lifeless and unmoving, almost clinical, something which readers later
associate with the unnatural precision of the buck’s death. Moreover, the first stanza has a
cyclical nature, beginning and ending with a reference to the “hemlocks bowed with snow”.
This creates a sense of weight which enhances the underlying atmosphere of ominousness,
highlighted by the associations of poison through the word “hemlock”, thus conveying the
omnipresence of danger and death. The fact that it is “the beginning of evening” also
enhances a sense of uncertainty, almost as if resembling the beginning of the end. This
quiet, isolated background is interrupted with movement, shown through the lilting
alliteration in the phrase “long leaps lovely and slow”, demonstrating the vitality of the deer
in contrast with the coldness and stillness of the setting.
The poet arguably brags about her privilege in witnessing such a raw moment. She
addresses the readers, “saw you not..?” and repeats “I saw them. I saw them…”, showing
how the moment is both private and exposed, emphasising the quiet and seclusion of the
scene; readers can vividly picture the poet looking beyond her “apple-orchard”, unmoving so
as not to break the spell of the moment. The orchard serves as a mundane connection of
humanity with nature, acting as a barrier and allowing the poet to view the scene from a
distance.
The magic of the image is then interrupted through the monostich in the middle of the
poem, which acts as a liminal, severing the vivacity of life and conveying the sombre death
of the animal. This demarcation is curiously written so as to illustrate the beauty rather than
violence of death, creating a tragic rather than gruesome image. The poet does this so as to
strip the scene of all traces of humanity, so that the death of the animal is not tainted by the
selfishness of human interests. Even in death, the buck’s blood remains “wild”, showing how
it remains strong, unconquered and free, “scalding the snow”, defying the cold itself.
Furthermore, the tragic aftermath of the buck’s death is shown through the poet’s
downward philosophical spiral. There is anaphora in the phrases “how strange a thing…” and
“bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers”, creating a sense of nobility in the fall of
something grand. The rhyme ceases, the previous unity and composure of the first stanza is
erased, replaced by a seemingly continuous stream of consciousness as the poet processes
what she sees. The standalone line “The buck in the snow” breaks the structure and
immortalises the animal, showing how the poet is removed from her trance and is almost in
disbelief as her detachment to morphs into empathy and sorrow, similarly to the doe.
Nature is then portrayed to be mourning the death of its own: “heavy hemlocks… shift their
