Sharon Olds

“Rites of Passage”

Like “A & P”, Sharon Olds has a somewhat abstract way of writing. In her poem, “Rites of Passage”, she uses the setting of a boy’s birthday party to connect the show of man’s desire to be the strongest. With the six and seven year olds, she pits them against each. With the men, she displays them as war generals. I think that this shows the connection between men and boys by linking them together and showing that men, in some ways, never grow up; she is comparing a scuffle of a six and seven year old to the wars of men.

“The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”

This poem, “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”, like “Rites of Passage”, is also an abstract poem, but in a different sort of way. In this poem, Sharon uses mathematical personifications to explain the outcome of a little girl at a boys’ party. I think Sharon uses a strange, yet very creative form in this passage. She relates the world in all numbers. Like in “A & P”, it makes you have to think about what you’re reading than what you would have had otherwise.