Quayyum Mustapha Discussion 13

I think Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” really shows what Raymond Carver means by “commonplace but precise language.” Carver talks about how everyday things can have a lot of meaning when they’re used carefully, and I see that in Dickinson’s writing. One quote that stands out is, “She rose to his requirement, dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable work of woman and of wife.” At first, it seems like the woman is just giving up childish things to become a wife, but when you think about it in the context of the poem, it could be seen as sarcastic. The “playthings” she’s leaving behind might actually be important hobbies or relationships, but now she’s expected to put them aside for her role as a wife. The language itself is simple, but there’s a lot of deeper meaning when you look at the situation more closely.