has been taught to them from birth and shed their former youthful façades? Do they turn on their mothers? In Sharon Olds’ poem, “The Possessive,” the reader is finally introduced to the female version of the popular coming-of-age theme as a simple haircut becomes a symbol for the growing breach between mother and daughter through the use of striking images and specific word choice. Olds begins the correlation of the daughter’s haircut and the idea of war early on in the poem. The reader is first
Sharon Olds’ poem “Late Poem to My Father” exposes the profound effect that childhood trauma can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness and pity in the reader by reflecting on the traumatic childhood of her father, and establishes a cause and effect relationship between the abuse he endured as a child and the dependence he develops on alcohol as an adult. The idea of emotional retardation caused by childhood experiences is not uncommon, especially in our modern
In the poem, “35/10” by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, “the silver-haired servant” (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her
juxtaposition of evocative imagery in “35/10”, Sharon Olds portrays the distressing reality of time and age. Age is a recurring theme in the poem. The first line we see, the title “35/10”, is a reference to and a comparison of the age of the speaker and her growing daughter. The speaker introduces tactile and visual imagery of the “daughter’s dark / silken hair” and “the grey gleaming” on her head, identifying herself as “the silver-haired servant”(Olds, 1-4). This juxtaposition of the youthfulness
In On the Subway, Sharon Olds brings the world of a black man and a white woman into proximity. The demeanor of the white woman helps develop both portraits in the poem. The life of a white woman seems to be sweet and easy, but according to her, there are still reasons to feel scared, and threatened. In contrast, the life of a black man is painted as nothing sweet or easy. A black man faces more disadvantages than a white women, which makes his life more challenging. He’s seen as a threat. Moreover
careful which word it is that they mean to say. WORKS CITED Meyer, Michael, ed. Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. o Joan Murray, "Play-By-Play". Meyer. 837-838. o Sharon Olds, "Sex Without Love". Meyer. 838. Barbara Rebecca, "Junior Year Abroad". Meyer. 839.
poems written at different times, with "connected" themes but at the same time very different. First Love is a Lyrical poem written in the 18th century by John Clare and Sex Without Love is a more contemporary poem which was written in 1985 by Sharon Olds. The theme in First Love is about a person that fell in love for the first time, who is talking about his emotions and what happened to him when it happened, while Sex Without Love the persona is criticizing the people that can have sex without
In the Subway by Sharon Olds, recurring issues that have been among society for the past century are the main idea throughout the poem. In the past century, racism has been a problem faced worldwide. The poem depicts how white people see african americans and how they have prejudices about them. With the use of Imagery, similes, and allusions, Sharon Olds is able to convey the idea of distinction of races within society. The first literary device utilized in the poem is Imagery. With Imagery, we
Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds Who is the birthday party a rite of passage for, the birthday boy or his mother? In the poem, "Rite of Passage," by Sharon Olds, the speaker, who is a mother, goes into detail about her son's birthday party celebration. Let us first begin by analyzing the title of the poem, "Rite of Passage," Encyclopedia Britannica describes a rite of passage as a ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one social or religious status
Olds expresses extreme boldness throughout her poetry, her directness stems from the lack of censorship found in her poems. In an interview, Olds explained that she worries less about censorship yet and realizes there is a need to edit her first drafts (Olds, “Advice to Young Poets”). When it comes to finalizing a poem, multiple drafts are required. Refining and creating the ideal way to deliver the topic of choice. In Olds case, the lack of worrying shows in her topics, she expresses necessities
Loss of Innocence In “Rite of Passage,” The author, Sharon Olds, introduces the idea that “rites of passage” exist in all cultures. In addition to defining the milestones people celebrate, one’s culture dictates what rituals are used to celebrate these milestones. In the poem “Rite of Passage,” Sharon Olds addresses a boy’s loss of innocence through the use of imagery, similes and irony to suggest that the loss of innocence is necessary when transitioning from boyhood to manhood. The author
to make of ending life when it has no meaning left would be daunting. In the poem “The Promise” by Sharon Olds, this is what is asked of her, and not only of her but
to what the speaker seems to say about last night. In the poem “Last Night” by Sharon Olds, the narrator uses symbolism and sexual innuendo to reflect on her lust for her partner from the night before. The narrator refers to her night by stating, “Love? It was more like dragonflies in the sun, 100 degrees at noon.” (2, 3) She describes it as being not as great as she imagined it to be and not being love, but lust. Olds uses lust, sex and symbolism as the themes in the story about “Last night”. A
In Sharon Old’s “The Victims,” the narrator highlights the effects of divorce as perceived by him or her as a child. Throughout the poem the narrator clearly seems to hold resentment toward his parents’ divorce. As the parents split, the effect of divorce is made clear—everyone in a family becomes the victim of a divorce, and that there is no clear winner or loser; there is only grief and pain. Although the father is criticized early in the poem, the tone later shifts towards distaste of the mother
Sharon Olds’ poem “Sex Without Love” wonders at the ability for two people to have sex and not involve emotions or pretenses of love. The poem argues that it is better to have sex without love under the premise that love is a false savior for people, and everyone is all alone anyhow. In other words, the claim is that personal interactions do not serve a purpose other than being a distraction, and they will inevitably end. However, the notion that attachment and love are false hopes for people and
How does Sharon Olds poem Sex without Love present loveless sex and how it affects people? Sharon Olds poem ‘Sex without Love’ is set in the form of questions and it flows on to give the answer to the questions asked. Olds poem is simple and presents strong and thorough view the use of the style irony. The profound sense of the poem is done with the use of common things such as the use of new born children, ice skaters, and joggers. At the beginning of the poem Olds asked the question “How do they
In Sharon Old 's poem "Last Night " an erotic encounter between a man and women takes the reader through a rollercoaster of emotions in only a matter of seconds. Initially, the assumption could be made that this poem is a love poem, which it may be. But it is also a poem about an encounter with nature, graced with a feminine tone as it is being told through the women’s’ point of view. Olds uses descriptive metaphors and symbolic points drawn from nature, while also applying violent imagery and grammar
How do observations of an ordinary and personal custom (in this case, a birthday party), evolve into reflections on the disturbing realties of everyday life? In “Rite of Passage”, the speaker in Sharon Olds poem impassively relates how first-grade boys (including her son) participate in and view violence as an achievement. Through a Post-Modern focus on society’s more intimate and hushed truths, the poem speaks on the unspoken norms of the path from boyhood to manhood. Disclosing social conventions
“On the Subway,” by Sharon Olds as she contrasts the two worlds of a wealthy Caucasian and a indigent African-American. The Caucasian narrator, a female, describes how this black man appears to her as she fears for her life as if he is ready to prey on her. She brings two worlds from different backgrounds together through the use of imagery and fearful and hopeful tones. Throughout Olds poem imagery is constantly being used as a way to describe the world of this poor black man. In lines 2-10, she
dancers - whose pleasure comes from a partner who is simply a “factor” (21), and share only in their own euphoria. Through use of simile, metaphor, and literal and figurative language, Sharon Olds reveals her disgust of those who make love without love, and also a somewhat aesthetic awe at the majesty of the act. Sharon Olds was born in San Francisco and grew up in Berkeley, CA. She was the child of a drunken, abusive father and a meek, depressed mother, both described eloquently in her poem “The Pact”: