The Use of Tone and Metaphors in Marks by Linda Pastan

The Use of Tone and Metaphors in Marks by Linda Pastan

Linda Pastan?s poem ?Marks? is unusual because it addresses the frustrations of a typical

housewife. Few people consider being a wife and mother a full-time job in itself, and it is not

uncommon for a woman who plays both of these roles to feel overworked and unappreciated.

What is unusual about Pastan?s poem is the way she effectively conveys these sentiments by the

use of metaphors, tone, and informal diction.

The speaker?s attitude is one of indifference, and this is made apparent by the metaphors she

uses to compare her family?s regard for her duties as a wife and mother to school grades. The

poem opens with, ?My husband gives me an A for last night?s supper, an incomplete for my

ironing, a B plus in bed. My son says I am average...?. There is no emotion used in these lines, as

if the speaker wishes to convey to the reader that she is so tired of serving others that she does

not have time to consider her own personal feelings. She may believe that she is constantly being

evaluated, and the fact th...