Summary Of The Death Of Marylin Monroe By Sharon Olds

An unknown narrator chronicles how the death of an icon affects the men who transport her body to the ambulance, and presumably to the morgue, in Sharon Olds poem “The Death of Marylin Monroe.” Although the date is not explicitly given in the text, based on the context, the poem begins on Sunday morning, August 5, 1962. Three Los Angeles paramedics are on scene at the residence of Marilyn Monroe, 12305 5th Helena Drive. Her lifeless body is lying on her bed.
The speaker refers to the paramedics as “[t]he ambulance men”and Marilyn's body as cold (1). These words are selected to convey the image that the paramedics are only ambulance operators today, Marilyn was well beyond resuscitation when they arrived, and therefore no emergency medical

services were necessary. This allows the reader to perceive that the loss felt by the paramedics later in the poem is not a result of them feeling inadequate or incompetent in performing their duties. Also, this word choice makes it clear that the paramedics are men, and establishing this early accelerates comprehension of the poem.
Olds uses enjambment throughout her solemn free verse poem.

This technique intentionally delays providing the complete meaning of some lines to create temporary moments of suspense, which is quickly resolved in the following line. In addition to creating and resolving suspense, these unconventional line breaks also serve another purpose, they highlight certain words. For example, line two begins with “body”, which conventionally should have concluded line one, but Olds has reserved that thought until the beginning of line two, where it stands exposed before the comma. Line four begins with “mouth,” placed similarly vulnerable before the comma. In this way, Olds employs enjambment to emphasizes the seductive features for which Marilyn was most

famous.
In the next few lines Olds uses the when referring to Marilyn, rather than her, to convey Marilyn's larger than life status; Marilyn is more than an ordinary woman, she is a goddess, analogous to Aphrodite or Venus.

In lines three and four the paramedics try to “close the mouth” and “close the eyes,” in line five they “tied the arms” to her side. Only after the paramedics touch a strand of her platinum tress that was accidentally caught on the stretcher (6-7) does Olds switch away from “the” to a more human reference of “her” when referring to Marilyn. With this word choice, the reader is able to sense the change in the paramedics perspectives as the supernatural goddess Marilyn Monroe transforms into a mere human on the stretcher. Olds continues to depict the transition as she flattens the iconic hour glass figure of Marylin beneath the sheet that covers her dead body (7-8). As the paramedics begin to carry her out of the house, they abruptly remember who it is that they are carrying; they seem to appreciate the significance of the moment, therefore carry her with the reverence due a queen (9).
The second stanza begins a new scene. The paramedics go out for a few drinks after work, and they already know they have been changed. As paramedics in Los Angeles, these men have presumably rushed many wounded people to the hospital; they had saved the lives of many, and saw others pass beyond. Normally, a few drinks after work allows them to recompose themselves enough to go home

and hug their wives and play with their children. But today is different, the icon of sex had died, had sex perished along with her?
For one of the paramedics it had, we learn in the third stanza. Olds continues with the unusual text formatting, the first line significantly indented, which creates atypical line breaks throughout the stanza, full of enjambment. In lines sixteen and seventeen we learn that since working the death of Marilyn, one of the paramedics has experienced pains, nightmares, depression, and impotence (16-17). The second paramedic no longer enjoys his work, his wife and kids look different. By locating this paramedic in the same stanza as the first paramedic, Olds infers that his wife and kids look different in a negative way. This paramedic has developed a fascination with the deceased icon, and believes she is waiting for him beyond death.
In the fourth stanza we learn that the third paramedic feels compelled to listen to an ordinary woman breathing in her sleep. We can presume that this ordinary woman is his wife, and that he has developed a deeper appreciation for her.
This brief poem consisting of five sentences divided into four stanzas (the third stanza consisting of 2 sentences), does not fit neatly into any of the formal poem classifications. Although it deals with the dead, I do not feel that it cannot be considered a elegy, since the focus is more on the impact on the living, rather than sustained lamination for the dead. The poem is probably best classified as a narrative that encourages the reader to ponder mortality. Readers more familiar with the subject will likely also consider the stress that celebrity brings to a simple, mortal human.