The Old Maid

The Old Maid

By Sara Teasdale

I saw her in a Broadway car,
The woman I might grow to be;
I felt my lover look at her
And then turn suddenly to me.

Her hair was dull and drew no light
And yet its color was as mine;
Her eyes were strangely like my eyes
Tho’ love had never made them shine.

Her body was a thing grown thin,
Hungry for love that never came;
Her soul was frozen in the dark
Unwarmed forever by love’s flame.

I felt my lover look at her
And then turn suddenly to me, —
His eyes were magic to defy
The woman I shall never be.

Summary of  The Old Maid

  • Popularity of “The Old Maid”: Written by Sara Teasdale, an American lyricist as well as a great poetic soul, the poem “The Old Maid” explores the theme of usual love from an unusual angle. It first appeared in the collection Rivers to the Sea, in 1915, published by Macmillan. The poem demonstrates how a simple passion of love differs when it comes to the status, personality, and impression of a figure and loses its significance. Her presentation of this twisted fact and ideal reality does not conform to the social conventions in which lies the popularity of the poem.
  • “The Old Maid” As a Representative of Unusual Love: Sara Teasdale opens the poem with her usual style of presenting a first-person speaker. The speaker states that she has seen a woman realizing that one day she could also be like her, an old woman. However, she feels startled when she sees that her lover has also glanced at her though her situation is not that to be looked at with love. She looks dull in hair and color, and her eyes are drooping strangely with no shine in them.
    Even her physical situation is disappointing as she looks quite thin and seems to be dying for love. It seems that she has gone cold from such warming passions. The lesson that she has learned from that woman’s physical situation, her lover’s glance at her and then at her future, makes her realize that her lover would turn away from her in the future when she would be like her. This oblique and implicit expression of truth in her poetry seems a new turn.
  • Major Themes in “The Old Maid”: Love, physical reality, and bleak future prospects are three major themes of this poem “The Old Maid.” Sara Teasdale has given a twist to the feelings of love that are considered not only sacred but also everlasting. She is of the view that love is dependent on physical features as well as social status. The old maid attracts the attention of her lover but not his love. However, she turns to herself and thinks that when this physical reality dawns upon her that one day she would be like that old maid, she would also, perhaps, dispel her lover and he might leave her. However, one interesting thing is that she just jerks these bleak future prospects off to think about that old maid.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Old Maid

Sara Teasdale has used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices she has used in this poem are as follows.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “And then turn suddenly to me” and the sound of /o/ in “I felt my lover look at her.”
  2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /h/ in “her hair” and /l/ in “lover look.”
  3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /l/ in “I felt my lover look at her” and the sound of /r/ in “Her soul was frozen in the dark.”
  4. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Sara Teasdale used imagery in this poem, such as “Her body was a thing grown thin”, “Hungry for love that never came” and “His eyes were magic to defy.”
  5. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. Sara Teasdale has used the metaphor of love as a person that makes eyes shine and body as a person feeling hungry.
  6. Simile: It is a figure of speech that shows a direct comparison of things to clarify meanings. Sara Teasdale has used the simple simile of comparing eyes “Her eyes were strangely like my eyes.”
  7. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as Broadway, car, color, eyes, and body to show how love affects people.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Old Maid

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows very good use of formal and poetic diction.
  2. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Sara Teasdale has used end rhyme in this poem, such as be/me and mine/shine.
  3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
  4. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABCB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
  5. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
  6. Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a loving, neutral as well as reflective tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote about good people.

I felt my lover look at her
And then turn suddenly to me, —
His eyes were magic to defy
The woman I shall never be.