Living in Sin (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Adrienne Rich
- First Published: 1955
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
The Poem
Adrienne Rich’s “Living in Sin” is a twenty-six-line single-stanza poem that effectively captures the stark contrast between a young woman’s romantic notions and the bitter taste of daily realities once she acts on those notions.
Told entirely from the woman’s point of view, the poem begins in the past, with the vision of how she thought her life would be living with the man she loved. The first two lines effectively convey her naïveté, her simple acceptance of a fairy tale version of her future once she has accepted his offer to come and live with...
[The entire page is 1403 words long]
