"Getting Out"

“Getting Out” by Cleopatra Mathis

Question 4

The tone of the poem up to line 14 expresses a tone of anger and bitterness. The married couple lives in silence with each other.  “Every night another refusal, the silent work of tightening the heart,” (Mathis). This excerpt reveals that in the couples silence and at night, they both knew that their marriage will not work. They both feel bottled up with each other wanting to escape. In line 14, “heaving words like furniture,” reveals the anger the couple feels towards each other. Language such as “furniture” and “pack up” explain the couple going through a divorce. Line 14 is told in the past and in line 15, the poem shifts to present. The tone shifts from disgust and anger within the relationship to sadness in looking back on the relationship. Now, the separated couple looks back on their relationship with sadness because they once loved each other. “I have the last unshredded pictures of our matching eyes and hair,” reveals the woman recalling their relationship. The couple is sad that they lost the loved they shared, but they know that they are happier apart.