Adrienne Rich’s Twenty-One Love Poems depicts the ebb and flow of a relationship on the surface. Her lines seem to describe the hardships of a relationship surrounded by the city. However, when framed with the fact that these poems were written for her lesbian lover, each of her statements become more than just a description of a passionate relationship; they are a social commentary on the hardships of a relationship not considered the “norm” in her society. Rich’s poems draw a story of a relationship in its entirety, and within that story, her choice of words, phrasing, and metaphors clearly demonstrate how difficult her relationship had been for her.
Rich opens with a poem that contains the line “No one has imagined us” (236). With this line, she is openly claiming that their relationship (which exists in a city of “pornography, science-fiction vampires” [236]), is something that hasn’t been thought of. In a society which chooses to actively imagine vampires and other fiction, the thought of two women together is still considered absurd. Without the framing of who the poems was written for, this line could easily be misinterpreted to only mean no one could see the two lovers together due to their personalities, or other circumstances. In Poem II, Rich states: “I laugh and fall dreaming again/of the desire to show you to everyone I love,/to move openly together/in the pull of gravity, which is not simple” (237). In this instance, her choice of the words “desire” and “openly” clearly demonstrate her need to freely act as she wants. However we see that society, which she compares to gravity, has made it difficult. It is also interesting to note that with this interpretation, accepted societal norms is taken as fact, as gravity is–like it can not be changed. The fact from Poem I, that two women together is a crazier notion than science-fiction vampires or televising pornography is, like gravity, pulling them down. However, again it could have easily been a weaker statement had it not been framed with an idea of who the poem was written for. In Poem XIX, Rich addresses their struggle straightforwardly saying “two women together is a work/nothing in civilization has made simple” (245). This is the clearest example of Rich’s commentary on how her relationship’s battle against society is not simple.
I completely agree with you! Her diction clearly depicts messages that can easily be over looked, and make her work seem as an ordinary love poem. When I initially read the poem I did not quite comprehend how it related to the affection between two partners of the same sex. I am normally use to love poems being overly dramatic and so lines such as “No one has imagined us” are common to see. So as I continued reading I was not able to differentiate her poem from that of other authors. It took me until my second time reading it that I had realized that Adrienne Rich was actually conveying a stronger message than what a reader may come to think. In actuality, in her piece “Twenty-One Love Poems,” Rich was explaining the social barriers and difficulties same sex couples would endure during mid 1900’s. I think her ability to effectively phrase and word certain lines and give them extra meaning is what makes Adrienne Rich such an innovating writer.
Thank you for pointing out the motivation behind these poems. When I first read these poems I did not know that they were written for Rich’s lover and they seemed like a fictional love story that is fighting against the odds. They seemed somewhat relatable but I can no longer identify with the kind of challenges Rich must have faced. Revisiting these poems with Rich’s true intention in mind has made me believe less and less in the optimism in these poems. A world full of debauchery and absurdity yet still unaccepting of homosexual relationships makes Rich’s situation seem like a hopeless one. I especially like your interpretation of the law of gravity and how, like societal norms, it must be accepted. It supports the realistic feel that these poems convey which has made Rich’s story powerfully sad yet brave.