As for accessibility, some benefit will come from placing Millay in the context of the poetry of the 1920s and 1930s as one of those like, for instance, Robert Frost , Archibald MacLeish, and Edward Arlington Robinson , who carried forward the more traditional verse form and techniques in the face of the experimentalism of T. S. Eliot , Ezra Pound , Wallace Stevens , and William Carlos Williams . It is characterized by forthrightness of expression, clarity of diction, and avoidance of ambiguity and of the esoteric and erudite as a source for figurative language. Millay is one poet in particular whose work benefits from being read aloud in order to do justice to its melodic qualities. In her own recording of some of her poems, Millay emphasizes the song-like nature of much of her verse. Teachers should play this recording for students or, of course, have them read the poems aloud themselves.
Students often raise gender issues.
For example, they ask whether it makes any difference that the poet is a woman. Another issue is relevance. Few American poets in this century have written on this subject with the combined artistry and diversity of Millay. Millay should not, however, be associated exclusively with this kind of poetry. Another major theme is the integrity of the individual, which Millay valued highly for herself as well as for others.