Although confusing at first, the poem “Marriage” had certain passages in it that I could really relate to and found pretty interesting.
The first passage:
“When she introduces me to her parents, back straightened, hair finally combed, strangled by a tie…”
I found this passage significant to me, mainly because I have been in this type of situation, which I’m assuming many have before. When you meet your significant other’s parents, you do your best to impress them, usually by being well-groomed, dressed properly, and overly polite. I just find how the author wrote about this type of uncomfortable situation back during his time and how it still applies today, in the 21st century, to be interesting. It seems like nothing has changed.
This second passage is a little different. I feel the author was being very satirical here, and foresaw how society might be in the future:
“…not rural no snow no quiet window, but hot smelly tight New York City, seven flights up, roaches and rats in the walls, a fat Reichian wife screeching over potatoes Get a job! And five nose running brats in love with Batman.”
I just find it kind of comical how he knows that not everyone will end up in that cookie-cutter lifestyle they dream of, especially those that lived in the 1950s. Everyone thinks they will live the ideal life, including the author, but then if you think about it, there’s always that opposite side of the spectrum that exists. I also feel that what he wrote kind of generalizes, or pokes fun, at today’s society. Nowadays, there are families that eat around a television instead of a table and idolize superheroes more than real role models.
Even if the author didn’t mean to put this much emphasis on these passages, I find them to stand out when I read through the poem.
