I Will Put Chaos Into Fourteen Lines

After the volta, or “turn” in Millay’s sonnet, the tone of the speaker becomes much more introspective. Once they comprehend that they have, indeed, conquered and trapped Chaos and that they “have him” (Line 11), it is almost like a veil is lifted. The speaker is finally able to truly see Chaos as he really is. He isn’t invincible and all-powerful as they initially expected. Now that all of the “years of duress” (Line 9) are over, the speaker reveals Chaos to be “nothing more nor less / Than something simple not yet understood” (Lines 11 - 12). Chaos only has as much power and authority over the speaker as they are willing to give to him. Individuals often have a tendency to build up their fears and feed into them, making them bigger, scarier, or more dire than they actually are. When confronted, however, these fears that are given full reign over our reasoning can be controlled with effort. Once viewed through order and reason, they amount to little more than “nothing” (Line 11). It is when they are “not yet understood” (Line 12) that fears are at their worst and most influential. Once rational thought and structure is applied to them, these fears lose their effectiveness. If individuals can dissect their own Chaos to understand where it comes from, Chaos and fear becomes less terrifying and horrible. Therefore, while fears may appear insurmountable at first, they are often not as scary as they seem. Once individuals understand this, they can reclaim control over their individual Chaos and turn their energies to something more productive, such as to “make him good” (Line 14).