Poetry Outline: Chapter 3

35/10 by Sharon Olds

Thesis:

Playing with multiple denotations and connotations of words, Sharon Olds expresses one’s struggle to accept the inevitable process of ageing through similes and diction.

I. Denotation and Connotation

            A. “the fold in my neck” (Olds 6-8). “Fold” can literally mean to lay one part over another. Another denotation Olds suggests is to concede defeat by withdrawing, like in poker. The literal denotation of the word “fold” connotes wrinkles in the woman’s skin; however, the second denotation suggests that the woman admits defeat to her fight against ageing, therefore growing wrinkles on her neck.

            B. “just as we begin to go they begin to arrive” (Olds 5-6). “Arrive” can mean to reach a destination, or to achieve success. With both of these denotations comes a different connotation. The mother could mean that her young girl has arrived at a certain age in life, or that she arrived at a certain maturity level. The mother could also mean that her daughter is finally capable of achieving success without her help; she has arrived at a level of independence.

II. Similes

            A. “she opens like a moist precise flower on the tip of a cactus” (Olds 9-10). This is a simile to represent the blossoming of the woman’s daughter both socially and physically. The girl is young and fresh in age, just like this fresh flower experiencing the outside world for the first time.

            B. “her full purse of eggs, round and firm as hard-boiled yolks” (Olds 13-14). The “purse” literally represents the daughter’s ovaries that are full of eggs because she hasn’t started puberty yet. The eggs are “round and firm as hard-boiled yolks” because they are fresh and inactive.

III. Diction

            A. “I see the grey gleaming on my head” (Olds 3). Grey is a very bleak color and is not often described as “gleaming,” which holds a positive connotation of happiness and liveliness. Because the woman describes her grey hair as “gleaming,” the fact that lots of attention is paid to one of her unflattering traits really bothers her.

            B. “the silver-haired servant behind her” (Olds 4). The mother refers to herself as a servant, with “servant” carrying a negative connotation. She sees herself negatively because she is ageing. While most mothers find brushing their daughters’ hair a pleasant experience, this woman cannot truly look herself in the mirror. She is not only a servant to her daughter, but also a servant to herself, trapped within the confines of her self-esteem.