- National Poetry Month
- Materials for Teachers
- Literary Seminars
- American Poets Magazine
Main navigation
- Academy of American Poets
User account menu
Find and share the perfect poems.
Page submenu block
- literary seminars
- materials for teachers
- poetry near you
Add to anthology
This poem is in the public domain.
More by this poet
Love is not all (sonnet xxx), sonnet iii: “mindful of you the sodden earth in spring”.
Mindful of you the sodden earth in spring, And all the flowers that in the springtime grow, And dusty roads, and thistles, and the slow Rising of the round moon, all throats that sing The summer through, and each departing wing, And all the nests that the bared branches show, And all winds that in any weather blow,
Just a rainy day or two In a windy tower, That was all I had of you— Saving half an hour.
Marred by greeting passing groups In a cinder walk, Near some naked blackberry hoops Dim with purple chalk.
Newsletter Sign Up
- Academy of American Poets Newsletter
- Academy of American Poets Educator Newsletter
- Teach This Poem
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking.
All night there isn’t a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming, But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming.
My heart is warm with friends I make, And better friends I’ll not be knowing; Yet there isn’t a train I’d rather take, No matter where it’s going.
Analysis, meaning and summary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem Travel
i see it as if the persona is trapped and wants to get out, she would take any train anywhere she could to get out. Also the persona cannot stop thinking about the train because they cannot stop thinking or wishing of how to get out. That is how i interpreted it.
I read this poem as adventurous, like she was wanting to get out and she would go anywhere the train took her
One further comment: When my wife and I moved to St. Louis from Oberlin so that I could do grad. work in Political Science at Washington University I found an apartment at 5877 Nina Place, St. Louis 12 (pre-zipcode). The mainline of the Wabash ran in a cutting right behind our apartment. I could watch many great trains, including The Wabash Cannonball and The Detroit Limited. We used both trains to get home to Michigan. We got off at Adrian. But enough! Millay again for sure.
The mainline of the Michigan Central ran right back of my high school. Every school day I heard The Wolverine (#17) go to Chicago from New York, The Michigan (#355) go to Chicago from Detroit. About the time school dismissed The New York Special (#44) went by from Chicago to New York. You can hear that train called out in Hitchcock’s “North By Northwest.” We cheered when we heard “Jackson” at the Michigan Theatre in the old hometown (where we still live). So, I like the poem because it’s about friends and trains and wishing I were on my way to the Windy City rather than in Chemistry Class. One can get rather too deep about literature! I am posting this from Houston, TX. I came here on what’s left of The Wolverine service and on The Texas Eagle (bus from Longview to Houston). We live in degraded times! No cinders, no steam, and a BUS to finish the journey. Good grief!
I do feel a love of Trains and the sheer magic of Train Travel. I think the sadness may come from not a lack of personal fulfillment but from simply missing travelling on the train. Perhaps you have to be a train travel enthusiast to feel this.
I’ve always seen the poem as more hopeful than that–that the narrarator wants to take every opportunity to follow there dreams, I never saw it as a sort of resigned, given-up-on-dreams feeling. That’s interesting.
This poem always gives me the incredible feeling that the narrator feels as though they have missed out on their dreams. Now they are stuck, content, but stuck and their forgotten and missed dreams are manifest in the form of an imaginary train that never comes.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking.
All night there isn't a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming.
My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better friends I'll not be knowing, Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, No matter where it's going.
Monadnock Valley Press > Millay
- ABBREVIATIONS
- BIOGRAPHIES
- CALCULATORS
- CONVERSIONS
- DEFINITIONS
Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 (Rockland) – 1950 (Austerlitz)
The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming, But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming. My heart is warm with friends I make, And better friends I'll not be knowing; Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, No matter where it's going.
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
Quick analysis:
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, the third woman to win the award for poetry, and was also known for her feminist activism more…
All Edna St. Vincent Millay poems | Edna St. Vincent Millay Books
Follow 4 fans
Discuss the poem Travel with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe. If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
You need to be logged in to favorite .
Create a new account.
Your name: * Required
Your email address: * Required
Pick a user name: * Required
Username: * Required
Password: * Required
Forgot your password? Retrieve it
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style: MLA Chicago APA
"Travel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. < https://www.poetry.com/poem/9492/travel >.
Become a member!
Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world, the web's largest resource for, poets, poems & poetry, a member of the stands4 network, more poems by.
- And do you think that love itself
- Sonnet 06: Bluebeard
- I Shall Go Back
- Euclid Alone
Poetry Contest
Enter here »
Special Program
Earn rewards.
Learn More »
Our awesome collection of
Promoted poems.
Get promoted
Browse Poetry.com
Are you a poetry master, which poetic form consists of fourteen lines, typically written in iambic pentameter and follows a specific rhyme scheme.
Create an AI image depicting your poem for $3.99
Why should i add an image to my poem.
By adding an illustration to your poem, readers will have a clearer understanding of the poem's intent, allowing for more effective and accurate communication of its message, while enhancing the reading experience for audiences.
Sample illustrations:
You received a new coupon.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems Summary
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.
Written by Timothy Sexton
The speaker of the poem recalls a memory about taking a ride on the Staten Island Ferry with a friend that is so intense she is able to recall many vivid details.
A woman is caught short by her lover’s rejection as she considers why it must follow that what is loved on Wednesday must still be loved on Thursday.
“Renascence”
Where landscapes and seascapes become metaphors for the burden of the poet: omniscient awareness of the misery of the world.
The title tidal pool becomes the location of suicide in which a lily grasped in death is still a thing of everlasting beauty.
“The Poet and His Book”
Immortality is assured for the poet as long as the poems can continue to persuade the reader to turn the pages of the book.
“Apostrophe to Man (on reflecting that the world is ready to go to war again)”
The entirety of human must bear the brunt of bringing the world to the brink of war and beyond again and again.
A poetic argument against the tradition of celebrating spring in verse simply for the same of celebrating the arrival of the season.
“Czecho-Slovakia”
The shaming of the politics of doing nothing in the face of rising fascism.
“On the Wide Heath”
The story of a sad man held hostage to a shrewish wife for fear having nothing at all.
"Never May the Fruit Be Plucked"
Fruit as a metaphor for love within the context of loving what you have because it can never be expected to grow elsewhere.
“On Hearing a Symphony of Beethoven”
A poem teaching that even the most passive of artistic experiences can become collaborative when the will is there to analyze and interpret.
“Euclid Alone Has Looked on Beauty Bare”
A celebration of the rare moments of greatness and flashes of genius of which man is capable.
“Ballad of the Harp-Weaver”
A very poor woman fantasizes of having the power to weave clothes for prince from the strings of her harp
“Justice Denied in Massachusetts”
The Sacco and Vanzetti miscarriage of justice in poetic form.
“What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why”
A requiem by the poet for having taken part in the very fact of romance itself more than regretful ode for a love gone wrong.
“Indifference”
A woman who is profoundly committed to surrendering to everything life has waiting, but is indifferent to it by virtue of only waiting and not taking a proactive approach to appreciating it.
“Witch-Wife"
A husband is grateful that his wife has surrendered to him, but begrudges the fact that even so, he knows he can never hope to have her completely.
“Love is not All”
An exercise in understatement in which messages of previous poems seem to be subverted with messages about the vitality of finding and being in love.
“The Return”
A poem taking the view that nature is not only constant, but exists independently of all the meaning that humans invest it with.
“On Thought in Harness”
A poem designed specifically to thumb a nose at those who pigeonhole creative minds into a cage without access to the artist’s soul.
Update this section!
You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.
After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.
Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems Questions and Answers
The Question and Answer section for Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
Study Guide for Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems
Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems study guide contains a biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
- About Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems
- Character List
Essays for Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems
Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
- "Love Is Not All" Commentary and Analysis
- A Wholesome Glimpse into Memories of Past Lovers: "Once More into My Arid Days Like Dew" and "I Think I Should Have Loved You Presently"
- Breaking Gender Expectations in Millay’s “I, being born a woman”
16 pages • 32 minutes read
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.
Poem Analysis
Symbols & Motifs
Literary Devices
Further Reading & Resources
Discussion Questions
Mimetic: Meter, Structure, and Rhyme
The use of iambic (unstressed/stressed syllable repetition ) and trochee (stressed/unstressed syllable repetition) throughout the poem reinforces an ordered, chugging rhythm when read out loud. Mentioned earlier in this guide, the long vowel sounds of - i and - e create a sad tone against the sounds of people and the train .
Millay adds to this by incorporating the - b rhyme throughout the poem. It repeats in all three stanzas. The result is that the end-rhyme and meter give the poem a near-symmetrical sound that is just slightly off balance. Perhaps this also emits a visual of the speaker, who reaches the train and always falls short.
Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!
- 7,750+ In-Depth Study Guides
- 4,800+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
- Downloadable PDFs
Don't Miss Out!
Access Study Guide Now
Related Titles
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
An Ancient Gesture
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Conscientious Objector
I Will Put Chaos Into Fourteen Lines
Not In A Silver Casket Cool With Pearls
Song of a Second April
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver
The Courage That My Mother Had
The Spring And The Fall
Featured Collections
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
Poems of Conflict
Short Poems
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Summary. 'Travel' by Edna St. Vincent Millay speaks of one narrator 's unquenchable longing for the opportunity to escape from her everyday life. The poem begins with the speaker stating that from where she lives, there is a railroad track "miles away.". It is a feature in her life that is constant.
Overview. The poem "Travel" (1921) by Edna St. Vincent Millay explores the desire to travel and explore around the time of industrial innovation in the early-20th century. The poem focuses on trains as the main means of travel, opportunity, and possibility in an otherwise static world. "Travel" also explores one's relationship to ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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.
Edna St. Vincent Millay was born in Rockland, Maine, on February 22, 1892. A poet and playwright poetry collections include The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver (Flying Cloud Press, 1922), winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and Renascence and Other Poems (Harper, 1917) She died on October 18, 1950, in Austerlitz, New York.
The theme of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Travel" is wanderlust: a strong desire or impulse to travel. Millay uses the train as a symbol for traveling on to new adventures with new people ...
Edna St. Vincent Millay. Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, the third woman to win the award for poetry, and was also known for her feminist activism more… All Edna St. Vincent Millay poems | Edna St. Vincent Millay Books
Analysis, meaning and summary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem Travel. 7 Comments Amanda says: ... Poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay Poem:. Travel Year: Published/Written in Poem of the Day: Monday, May 13th 2013 American Poems - Analysis, Themes, Meaning and Literary Devices > Poets
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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.
Travel Lyrics. The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day. But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train ...
Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming. My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better ...
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950) was a poet and playwright and the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize. She began publishing poems while still in high school and earned a full scholarship to Vassar based largely on a single poem, called "Renascence."
Edna St. Vincent Millay. Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, the third woman to win the award for poetry, and was also known for her feminist activism more…. All Edna St. Vincent Millay poems | Edna St. Vincent Millay Books
Classics Edna St. Vincent Millay. Travel. The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine ...
Throughout much of her career, Pulitzer Prize-winner Edna St. Vincent Millay was one of the most successful and respected poets in America. She is noted for both her dramatic works, including Aria da capo, The Lamp and the Bell, and the libretto composed for an opera, The King's Henchman, and for such lyric verses as "Renascence" and the poems found in the collections A Few Figs From ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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.
Travel. The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isn't a train goes by all day. But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming, But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming.
Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems Summary. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Written by Timothy Sexton. "Recuerdo". The speaker of the poem recalls a memory about taking a ride on the Staten Island Ferry with a friend that is so ...
Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 - October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of her prose and hackwork verse under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd.. Millay won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her poem "Ballad of the Harp-Weaver"; she ...
Edna St. Vincent Millay (born February 22, 1892, Rockland, Maine, U.S.—died October 19, 1950, Austerlitz, New York) was an American poet and dramatist who came to personify romantic rebellion and bravado in the 1920s.. Millay was reared in Camden, Maine, by her divorced mother, who recognized and encouraged her talent in writing poetry.Her first published poem appeared in the St. Nicholas ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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.
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Edna St. Vincent Millay . Edna St. Vincent Millay, (born Feb. 22, 1892, Rockland, Maine, U.S.—died Oct. 19, 1950, Austerlitz, N.Y.), U.S. poet and dramatist. Her work is filled with the imagery of the Maine coast and countryside. In the 1920s, when she lived in Greenwich Village, she ...
In the following poem, I will put Chaos into 14 lines, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and write a line-by-line analysis to find the meaning in each line. Identify one textual detail (a formal ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 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.