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Analyzing sharon olds


            
             The poem "Sex without Love" expresses Sharon Olds" personal thoughts and emotions about people who engage in sexual acts without being in love. Throughout the poem it is apparent that casual sex is not her cup of tea. She makes it clear that she finds the act of lovemaking without love involved is distasteful and against her religious beliefs. Olds uses the elements of poetry to send a very powerful message to her readers about her thoughts on casual sex. .
             The very first line of the poem asks a simple question, "How do they do it, the ones who make love without love". From the very beginning a tone of disproval and confusion is set. By asking a question Olds" requires you to become immediately involved in the subject. The informal diction in the poem allows us to get a straightforward answer. The speaker is obviously confused about how people engage in these selfish acts everyday with no remorse. Again, she states how do they "not love the one they came there with" (Lines 10-11). She is expressing her misunderstanding of two people engaging in what she believes to be a sacred act with no emotional attachment. .
             With the use of imagery Olds paints a clear picture in the mind of the readers. Throughout the poem there are similes that describe the act of sex without being in love in a very negative light. She describes these people as being "wet as the children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away" (Lines 6-8). First this line evokes an image of two people involved in very sweaty and aroused sex. Then it paints a disturbing image of a mother giving her child up for adoption. I think Olds" used this image to make the readers think about the consequences that casual sex can create. Someone who is married would not be giving away her child at birth. Another example of the consequences having casual sex can bring is pointed out at the end of the poem when she states "they know they are alone with the road surface, the cold, the wind" (18-19).


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