Sharon Olds is known for keeping her readers on their toes and for radically changing the direction of her poems without warning (Galens). This remains particularly true in his poem “I return to May 1937”. Olds' brash style ensures his message is clearly conveyed, but his quirky and sometimes unexpected use of imagery keeps this broadcast fresh and entertaining. “I Go Back to May 1937” is about a girl imagining her parents before she was born, as they were graduating from college. In retrospect, she understands how much they have changed since "they [were] stupid, all they know is that they are/innocent, they wouldn't hurt anyone" (lines 11-12) . The reader considers warning them of the misery they will suffer in the future and breaking off their marriage relationship before it begins, but she cannot do so because it would end her own life. Resigning himself to acceptance, the speaker of the poem decides that nothing can be done to change what has already happened. Through the use of powerful diction and shocking imagery, Olds employs a unique stylistic approach to illustrate the ancient truth that you can never change the past. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Olds begins his poem in a tone of dispassionate reminiscence, describing his father as "walking/under the ocher sandstone arch" (line 2-3) outside the gates of his college. Her father is depicted confidently, walking to face his future without any fear or reservation, the kind of beginning one would find in an optimistic coming-of-age tale. Olds' tone takes a drastic turn when she describes "the red tiles glistening like folded patches of blood behind her head" (lines 4-5). The bold use of diction to describe something simple like campus architecture paints a horrifying portrait of the speaker's father to foreshadow events to come. The speaker's mother is described in much the same way: “I see my mother with some light books. at her hip, standing by the pillar made of small bricks with the wrought iron gate still open behind her, her sword tips black in the May air” (lines 5-9). Unlike the speaker's father, her mother does not move confidently toward her future. She is stopped in front of an open gate. She sees her past and her future but she doesn't yet know if she's ready to transition between the two. She does not stand behind a solid "sandstone arch" like the speaker's father, but a delicately constructed pillar made of tiny bricks made up of a myriad of different pieces that could be a metaphor for the complexity of her emotions facing at this critical and uncertain moment in his life. future (Metzger). The following few lines constitute the critical point of the article. The speaker expresses her feelings about her parents' future union: they are about to graduate, they are about to get married, they are children, they are stupid, all they know , is that they are innocent, that they would not harm anyone. go to them and say Stop, don't do it - she's not the right woman, he's not the right man, you're going to do things (lines 10-15) A child growing up without a father or mother figure tends to become more independent at an early stage. "I want to go to them and tell them Stop" (Olds), stating in the short story that they won't have a good time in the future, this is where experiences within the family, such as constantly seeing parents argue, can limit and detach hisidentify. The speaker has a special role in this poem; she is all-powerful in the sense that she can see and judge this couple, her future parents, because she sees their past and the decisions that led them to make mistakes along the way. She sees this graduation, this marriage, as being on the precipice. The beginning of a long fall into pain and misery has its roots here in this decision. Anciens capitalizes the word “Stop” in line thirteen for emphasis. This suggests an absolute stop necessary to avoid injury or harm, much like the capital stop on a stop sign on the streets (Galens). After establishing her parents' innocence, the speaker moves on to an unflinching warning about the cruel reality that their future looms; you can't imagine that you ever would, you're going to hurt the children, you're going to suffer in ways you've never heard of, you're going to want to die. I want to go to them there, in the late May sun, and tell them (lines 16 to 20). The speaker is extremely decisive in how she feels about marriage, describing it as bringing great sorrow and unhappiness. The speaker is furious not only at the couple for allowing the relationship to become the monster it has become, but at herself for not being able to intervene when she knows without a doubt what it will become . The speaker is faced with options that only lead to more problems. The speaker's rage subsides when she realizes the hopelessness of the situation while exploring the couple in the following lines; her pretty hungry face turning towards me, her pitiful beautiful untouched body, her beautiful arrogant face turning towards me, her pitiful beautiful untouched body, but I don't. I want to live” (Olds 20). Olds' use of diction is paramount to understanding the message she is trying to send here. She describes the faces of the lovers with renewed meaning or determination. The woman's face is "hungry", showing the desire for new opportunities and new life decisions to be made, not always with careful contemplation. Added to this is the man's "arrogant" face, which underlines the extent to which he does not know the repercussions of the choices he makes and whether the reasons which push him to make these choices are the right ones (Metzger). Olds uses syntax here to give the reader insight into the fact that their relationship lacks passion and love. Olds repeats the phrase "pitiful, beautiful body intact", but separates them by the description of the man's face. Olds wants the reader to know that even though they marry, they are still separated and far from a single union (Galens). The speaker shows her resentment and helplessness again here at the end, when she says that even though she knows they have these problems, the marriage won't work and the couple will hurt a lot of people along the way , she remains silent to preserve her own future life. It is only in the final lines that the speaker finally gives in to the desperate situation and deals with the hand that has been extended to her; I take them like male and female paper dolls and I strike them together on the hips, like shards of flint, as if a strike sets off sparks, I say: do what you are going to do, and I will talk about it. (Olds 25). Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The article the dolls seem like her last childish effort to play out an optimistic ending that she knows will never come true. The dolls are something she can control; she has their future in her hands, just as she has her own. She. 2012.