Adrienne Rich was an American poet, essayist, and feminist. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 16, 1929. Her work in the field of literature made her recognizable and earned her the National Book Award for Poetry and many others. The poem "Living in Sin" was written in the 1950s and became very popular during this period. His phenomenal work serves as a perfect example of how the reality of relationships can never be perfect, leaving one searching for something better. The woman in this poem fantasized and expected a perfect relationship by daydreaming and hoping that her relationship would never have difficulties and difficulties. However, his imagination backfired and reality took over. Adrienne Rich uses colorful language involving intense choice of diction and rhetorical devices to adequately describe the sadness that the woman is facing in the poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Rich begins the poem with two lines that immediately show the audience that the woman is currently in a state of regret and pain due to her affair. The first two lines of the poem begin: “He had thought that the study would be maintained; no dust on the furniture of love” (1-2). This quote shows that at first the woman imagined a perfect relationship, but as time passed, issues and problems began to arise which made her lose interest and affection for her significant other. The author makes a wise choice by using the word “dust” to replace the problems present in the poem. Once problems and difficulties arise in the couple's relationship, love begins to fade and the woman is no longer interested. The word “furniture” can be defined as the life of a couple or their relationship making the first two lines of the poem very significant. Using colorful language, Rich creates a powerful message in her poem to show what the woman may be facing. The author uses an intense choice of diction to show the emotions of the woman in the poem. The following words, cold and implacable, can all be found in the poem. Use these two detailed words to describe the woman's thoughts and feelings that he is currently facing in his relationship. The author also mentions: "Meanwhile, with a yawn, he played a dozen notes on the keyboard, declaring it out of tune" (15-17). This quote can be classified as a metaphor, Rich uses the word keyboard in this metaphor to create a connection related to the couple's relationship. While the statement “stated out of tune” may be referring to the complications the relationship is currently facing. Another quote mentioned in the poem: “that morning light so cold would outline the scraps of last night's cheese and three sepulchral bottles” (9-11). This quote can best describe that the couple's relationship is no longer pleasant and is starting to sour, just like last night's bits of cheese. Rich also uses the three burial bottles to show the despondent woman's action towards her relationship which forces her to consume the three bottles. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize Essay All in all, Adrienne Rich's poem, "Living in Sin," serves as an example of how relationships cannot always be perfect. Nowadays, most relationships fail because when hard times come most people give up and walk away. The truth is that.