Essay

 

Contrast and comparison between Robert Lowell’s “Man and Wife” and Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love”

 

 

2010

 

 

Robert Lowell’s poem “Man and Wife” (1959) and Sam Shepard’s play “Fool for Love” (1983) treat the problems of the relationships between men and women.

While Lowell’s “Man and Wife” is autobiographical, “Fool for Love” is not considered a description of personal experience of Shepard.

“Man and Wife” is a story about troubled marriage, based on personal experience. The primary realism of the poem is mixed with the surrealistic motifs of the many local metaphors (“war paint”, “rising sun”, etc.) and the imaginary suggestions. At first the poem appears casual but then the apparent connections are discovered. The reference to Milltown brings two main suggestions on mind: the image of the popular tranquilizer Milltown and the suggestion of “small town”.

“Fool for Love” describes the difficulties of an impossible relationship. The relationship between Eddie and May does not seem possible not only because of their different temperaments and ways of life, but due to its incestuous origin. “Man and Wife” concentrates on a possible and already realized relationship which has changed over the time.

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Темата е разработена 2010 г.

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Ключови думи:

problems of the relationships between men and women, story based on personal experience, local metaphors, realized relationships