Sharon Olds Station Poem

Matrimony, monogamy, and children either leads to happiness, hardship, or usually a combination of both. Sharon Olds’ touches these subjects in her poem “Station.” To fully understand the deeper meanings within the poem one must understand that Olds’ 35-year marriage was strained to the point of divorce, and that this poem records an event that occurs towards the beginning of this strain. She uses her husband’s description and their interaction as a canvas to paint her subject matter into physical form, combining the physical and emotional. Olds’ uses simile, metaphor, and apostrophe to describe her husband as a “lord,” and through these comparisons she shows admiration towards her husband (9). However, there seems to be a void where attraction between the two used to exist, even hinting at animosity caused by the opposition of a male dominated society. …show more content…
This acknowledgement hints at the admiration that Olds holds towards her husband and portrays him as if he were of a higher station. Olds’ specifically associates her husband with nobility throughout the poem using metaphors such as “you are descended from lords.” Nobility and those of great power have been stereotyped as being of a higher standard or even attributed with snobbery throughout history. These stereotypes portray him as a dominating male figure, and this point is brought home when she writes “Calmly, with no hint of shyness you examined me” as if to say that he is looking down upon her as lord would a