Living in Sin
By Adrienne Rich
She had thought the studio would keep itself
no dust upon the furniture of love
Half heresy, to wish the taps less vocal
the pains relieved of grime. A plate of pears,
a piano with a Persian shawl, a cat
stalking the picturesque amusing mouse
had risen at his urging.
Not that at five each separate star would writhe
under the mailman’s tramp; that morning light
so coldly would delineate the scraps
of last night’s cheese and three sepulchral bottles;
that on the kitchen shelf among the saucers
a pair of beetle-eyes would fix her own—
enjoy from some village in the moldings . . .
Meanwhile, he, with a yawn,
sounded a dozen notes upon the keyboard,
declared it out of tune, shrugged at the mirror,
rubbed at his beard, went out for cigarettes;
while she, jeered by the minor demons,
pulled back the sheets and made the bed and found
a towel to dust the tabletop,
and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.
By evening she was back in love again
though not so wholly but throughout the night
she woke sometimes to feel the daylight coming
like a relentless milkman up the stairs.
Summary of Living in Sin
- Popularity of “Living in Sin”: “Living in Sin” by Adrienne Rich, a famous American poet, and essayist, is an imaginative poetic rendition. It first appeared in his collection, Poems: Selected and New, published in 1974. The poem reflects the writer’s imaginative ideas about love. It also explores the difference between the expected relationship and the actual relationship. Although the poem’s subject seems simple, the writer’s philosophical approach toward two distinct relationships has made this poem an interesting read.
- “Living in Sin” As a Representative of Wonder: The poem centers on an unmarried couple living together.It begins when the speaker talks about her romantic relationship where her life is free from domestic responsibilities. There is no need to wash or dust the windows because she thinks the studio would manage these tasks by itself. In her dream relationship, there would be no creepy insects just a “picturesque” mouse that seems attractive to a cat. Similarly, the dream world does not demand any struggling or physical work like repairing the leakage or fixing a broken window. As the poem continues, the speaker returns to reality when she examines her monotonous routine with her musician boyfriend staring in her face. Moreover, the arrival of the milkman and the non-serious attitude of her partner indicates the struggle she is waging to preserve her life.
- Major Themes in “Living in Sin”: Love, expectations versus reality, and the difference between anticipated relationships and actual relationships are the major themes of the poem. The poem shows how the speaker tries to defend her illegitimate relationship. At first, she takes her reader to her dreamland where love is like a plate of pears or piano. However, the romantic tone suddenly becomes ironic when she realizes that there is nothing romantic in her life. The description shows that she has not achieved the level of satisfaction she has desired for. She thinks she would have a romantic life free of responsibilities. But, unfortunately, life never runs according to our desires.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Living in Sin”
literary devices enable the writers to present their ideas beautifully. Their appropriate use makes a simple text deep and interesting. The analysis of the devices used in this poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ in “she woke sometimes to feel the daylight coming” and again the sound of /e/ in “and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /th/ in “throughout the” and /s/ sound in “separate star.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ in “By evening she was back in love again” and the sound of /t/ in “of last night’s cheese and three sepulchral bottles.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“By evening she was back in love again
though not so wholly but throughout the night
she woke sometimes to feel the daylight coming
like a relentless milkman up the stairs.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Adrienne Rich has used imagery in this poem such as “a piano with a Persian shawl, a cat”, “pulled back the sheets and made the bed and found” and “and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor in the opening lines where she compares feelings with furniture such as;
“She had thought the studio would keep itself
no dust upon the furniture of love.”
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The writer has used personification in the middle of the poem, where the poet describes the stairs as “writh[ing]” under the weight of the man’s steps such as;
“Not that at five each separate star would writhe
under the mailman’s tramp; that morning light.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of struggle, love and emotions just to show how they constitute a major part of our life.
- Synecdoche: It is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole, or it may use a whole to represent a part. The poet has used this device in the thirteenth line, where beetle-eyes refers to a large whole in the entire beetle community such as;
“a pair of beetle-eyes would fix her own—
enjoy from some village in the moldings.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Living in Sin”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of descriptive diction with a serious tone.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem is a single stanza having twenty verses with no stanza break.
Quotes to be Used
The lines from the poem, “Living in Sin” are useful to use as a quote while talking about the struggle people make in love.
“She had thought the studio would keep itself
no dust upon the furniture of love
Half heresy, to wish the taps less vocal
the pains relieved of grime.”
