Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "Marks" is a powerful and concise exploration of the pressures and expectations placed on women, particularly within the roles of wife and mother. Through the metaphor of grading, Pastan deftly critiques the way these roles are evaluated by family members, reducing the speaker’s efforts and identity to a series of arbitrary marks. The poem's tone is deceptively calm and straightforward, but beneath the surface lies a simmering frustration and a sense of quiet rebellion.

The poem begins with the speaker’s husband assigning her a grade—"an A for last night's supper." This immediately sets the tone of the poem, where domestic tasks are appraised as though they were academic assignments. The husband's grading system extends to other aspects of domestic life, with "an incomplete for my ironing" and "a B plus in bed." These grades imply that the speaker’s worth is being measured by her ability to fulfill traditional domestic roles, with her performance being scrutinized and evaluated. The use of grades typically associated with school suggests a lack of appreciation for the complexity and effort involved in these tasks, reducing them to simple outputs that can be judged as "satisfactory" or not.

The poem then shifts to the speaker’s children, who also participate in this system of evaluation. The son’s comment—"I am average, an average mother, but if I put my mind to it I could improve"—reflects a dismissive attitude that underestimates the speaker’s efforts and reduces her to a level that is deemed mediocre. The suggestion that she "could improve" if she only tried harder further underscores the lack of recognition for the emotional and physical labor involved in motherhood. It also highlights the unrealistic and often contradictory expectations placed on women, who are expected to excel in every aspect of domestic life without acknowledgment of the challenges they face.

The daughter’s approach, based on a Pass/Fail system, is seemingly simpler and less harsh: "My daughter believes in Pass/Fail and tells me I pass." While this might seem more lenient, it still operates within the same framework of judgment, where the speaker’s worth is determined by whether she meets certain standards. The idea of "passing" suggests that the speaker has met the minimum requirements, but it also implies that there is little room for nuance or recognition of the effort involved—she simply "passes" or does not.

The poem’s final line—"Wait 'til they learn I'm dropping out"—serves as a powerful and surprising conclusion. Here, the speaker reveals her desire to reject the entire system of evaluation that has been imposed upon her. The idea of "dropping out" suggests a radical decision to abandon the roles and expectations that have been forced upon her, a rejection of the constant scrutiny and judgment. This line carries a sense of both defiance and liberation, as the speaker imagines freeing herself from the pressures of being measured and graded according to others' standards.

"Marks" is a poignant and incisive critique of the ways in which women’s roles are often undervalued and subjected to arbitrary evaluations. Pastan’s use of the metaphor of grading highlights the dehumanizing effects of such assessments, reducing the speaker’s identity and efforts to a series of marks on a scale. The poem captures the frustration of living under constant scrutiny and the desire to escape from the confines of rigid expectations. Through its simple yet powerful language, "Marks" resonates with anyone who has felt the burden of being judged by standards that fail to acknowledge the full scope of their contributions and worth.

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