I Will Put Chaos Into Fourteen Lines

When the speaker mentions “fourteen lines” (Line 1) at the beginning of Millay’s poem, they are referring to a specific poetic form: the sonnet. The sonnet, with its 14 lines, provides a specific structure. It is a set “plan” the speaker works within to contain and control Chaos. In addition to “lines” of poetry (Line 1), “lines” are also geometric units. A line is “a straight or curved geometric element that is generated by a moving point and that has extension only along the path of the point” (“Line.” Merriam-Webster, 2022). These geometric units indicate boundaries, helping to form shapes, charts, maps, etc. In this geometric sense as well, then, lines wall in Chaos to “keep him there” (Line 2). They are used as the “confines” (Line 5) to tame Chaos by forming specific parameters and a specific “sweet order” (Line 6) in which he can exist. Lines provide limits and barriers that maintain a sense of discipline and direction.

In the poem, the speaker lists “demon” (Line 4) as one of the effects of Chaos along with “Flood” and “fire” (Line 4). The speaker considers all of these to be part of Chaos’s “adroit designs” (Line 4).