Language: "Marks" by Linda Pastan

Known for her poems on the topics of motherhood, family, ethics, aging, and death, Linda Pastan is a American poet. One of her great accomplishments was taking on the role of Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1991-1995.

Marks

 

My husband gives me an A

for last night's supper,

an incomplete for my ironing,

a B plus in bed.

My son says I am average,

an average mother, but if

I put my mind to it

I could improve.

My daughter believes

in Pass/Fail and tells me

I pass. Wait til' they learn

I'm dropping out.

 

The poem uses marks (or grades) as a metaphor. The use of grades as a metaphor in this poem makes it clear to us that as a mother she is constantly being judged on her performance. Instead of receiving thanks and praise for all that she does as a mother, she is constantly being assessed on how well she does it.  All of her responsibilities as a mother are listed throughout the poem with a mark from her family to follow. There are three different systems mentioned in the poem that are used to grade her. Her husband grades with letters, her son grades using a charting system, and her daughter uses a pass/fail method. These different systems represent the multiple standards in which she must meet. To create the metaphor the poem uses school jargon. Besides the grading systems, the speaker uses other school related language and ends the poem with “I’m dropping out” (line 12). This phrase brings to light the mother’s irritation with the grading system in which she is constantly judged with. The way the system is forced upon her relates to the way schools force the compliance with a grading system on students. Just as a rebellious student who drops out of school, the concluding phrase suggests that she will no longer be subjected to the judgment of her family. The metaphor uses the familiar idea of grading systems to help the reader to visualize and think of how we feel about what motherhood entails.