I, Being born a Woman and Distressed is a 1923 sonnet by playwright and Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, in which a woman describes her simultaneous desire for and dislike of an unidentified addressee. The poem was first published in Millay's collection The Harp-Weaver, and Other Poems. It is one of her best-known works, enjoyed for its blunt discussion of female sexuality and its ironic tone.
In the work, the speaker describes her attraction to the addressee in fairly blunt terms and with vivid imagery. At the same time, she notes with dismay the divergence between this physical attraction and her rational decision-making capacities, which urge her to avoid conversation with the addressee. The speaker acknowledges stereotypes of feminine frivolity, using that assumption of frivolity as a way to explain and justify her sexual desire. She also assures the addressee that her attraction is not evidence of love or interpersonal interest outside the sexual realm. Thus the poem explores the intersections and distinctions between the body and the mind, as well as between love and lust. Furthermore, it interrogates gender norms, depicting female desire as a nuanced and individual experience.
An Italian sonnet, this work is written primarily in iambic pentameter, with additional syllables providing a suggestion of the speaker's urgency and haste. It consists of an octave and a sestet, with an ABBA ABBA CDCDCD rhyme scheme.
