Sharon Olds Writing Styles in I Go Back to May 1937

This Study Guide consists of approximately 40 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of I Go Back to May 1937.
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Sharon Olds Writing Styles in I Go Back to May 1937

This Study Guide consists of approximately 40 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of I Go Back to May 1937.
This section contains 726 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the I Go Back to May 1937 Study Guide

Analogy

Analogy is a common element used in poetry, and suggests a similarity between things that appear, on the surface, to be dissimilar. For example, Olds uses the initial image of the college gates as analogous commentary on her parents. The speaker describes each college gate individually to suggest differences, and perhaps incompatibility. The father's gate is ochre sandstone covered in red tile, whereas the mother emerges from wrought iron and bricks. The use of architectural details represents the differences between the two people, while serving as an analogy of the parents' movement from college to marriage. The use of analogy in Olds's poem is very subtle, so the reader needs to review the poem carefully to understand all the allusions.

Catharsis

Catharsis is the purging or release of unwanted emotions, often through the use of poetry or drama. The speaker in Olds's poem uses the poem to work...

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This section contains 726 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the I Go Back to May 1937 Study Guide
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