Margaret Atwood Marriage Annotation Analysis

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Although divorce has been prevalent in history from the beginnings of the Protestant church, it was a choice many are resistant in making. “Habitation” by Margaret Atwood describes a couple who most likely did not marry when the relationship was mature, rather they did it during the puppy love. Now that it is over, divorce is an option, but it is one they are not willing to take. To avoid a toxic relationship the couple starts to learn how to work together. Atwood presents a theme that “ divorce is a route some do not want to take, and one of the only other options is to work through their difficulties” by using cogent diction, imagery, and sufficient metaphors. The diction of this poem influences the imagery with the tone of the words . They are used to convey the message of how it feels to not feel the spark of love …show more content…

Imagery is visually descriptive wording and the language in the quote depicts marriage in her eyes. ”The edge of the forest, the edge/of the desert/the unpainted stairs/at the back where we squat/outside, eating popcorn,”(Atwood 4-8). The description, which is a part of metaphor for marriage, gives an idea that is not the best predicament, and can be uncomfortable. Imagery relies on powerful diction, however an even greater poetic element depends on those two to communicate the theme of “Habitation”. Metaphors are an ingenious way to talk about topics such as marriage. In the poem, marriage is compared to many items such as a house, a tent, an edge of a desert and forest, and unpainted stairs.She implies that marriage is not any of those except the outdoor stairs in which the couple sits upon , and ponders how they have survived this far. The end line,” We are learning to make fire,” (Atwood 12), pushes forth the idea a couple with marital problems are not broken and should divorce, but rather bent and can be

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