Several subjects are taboo in polite company, including the delicate topic of mental health. Both “Schizophrenia” by Jim Stevens and “Marks” by Linda Pastan address this topic within their poetry, albeit in drastically different manners. Reading these poems through only once can hide many of the traits that are shared. While “Schizophrenia” and Marks may greatly differ in terms of structure and point of view, they offer similar construction and insights. Structure is visually different in “Schizophrenia” and “Marks”. In “Schizophrenia”, 20 lines are divided over seven stanzas, with the first and last line of the poem being identical. While there is technically enjambment, each individual stanza forms a complete thought and is end-stopped.
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Insight is offered by the title itself in “Schizophrenia” and by the last thought, “Wait ‘till they learn / I’m dropping out.”(11-12) in “Marks”. The unknown narrator in “Schizophrenia” is third person omniscient, telling the tale of “the house that suffered most” (1) with at least one occupant diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through telling the story of the house, the narrator demonstrates how mental illness affects more than just the sufferer, and is visible if you know what to look for, much like watching a nice house become dilapidated. Conversely, “Marks” is told in first person by the mother, who unemotionally tallies her ever worsening grades. Steadily dropping marks coupled with the allusion to “dropping out” illustrates worsening depression and possible thoughts of suicide. While dealing with drastically different mental health issues, “Schizophrenia” and “Marks” are clearly dealing with related …show more content…
The opening line of the second stanza in “Schizophrenia” starts to tell the story of the house’s suffering: “It had begun with slamming doors, angry feet scuffing carpets” (2), implying there was a time before it had begun to suffer. Similarly, “Marks” opens with “My husband gives me an A / for last night’s supper,” (1-2) which does not have a direct negative connotation. Events deteriorate quickly, and “dishes were left unwashed, the cloth / disappeared under a hardened crust” (7-8) in “Schizophrenia” while our narrator in “Marks” informs us “My husband gives me … / an incomplete for my ironing” (1-3). Eventually, other people recognize the damage to the house in “Schizophrenia”, watching it slowly fall
Insight is offered by the title itself in “Schizophrenia” and by the last thought, “Wait ‘till they learn / I’m dropping out.”(11-12) in “Marks”. The unknown narrator in “Schizophrenia” is third person omniscient, telling the tale of “the house that suffered most” (1) with at least one occupant diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through telling the story of the house, the narrator demonstrates how mental illness affects more than just the sufferer, and is visible if you know what to look for, much like watching a nice house become dilapidated. Conversely, “Marks” is told in first person by the mother, who unemotionally tallies her ever worsening grades. Steadily dropping marks coupled with the allusion to “dropping out” illustrates worsening depression and possible thoughts of suicide. While dealing with drastically different mental health issues, “Schizophrenia” and “Marks” are clearly dealing with related …show more content…
The opening line of the second stanza in “Schizophrenia” starts to tell the story of the house’s suffering: “It had begun with slamming doors, angry feet scuffing carpets” (2), implying there was a time before it had begun to suffer. Similarly, “Marks” opens with “My husband gives me an A / for last night’s supper,” (1-2) which does not have a direct negative connotation. Events deteriorate quickly, and “dishes were left unwashed, the cloth / disappeared under a hardened crust” (7-8) in “Schizophrenia” while our narrator in “Marks” informs us “My husband gives me … / an incomplete for my ironing” (1-3). Eventually, other people recognize the damage to the house in “Schizophrenia”, watching it slowly fall