35/10- Sharon Olds

Thesis: The  foreboding theme of ageing is expressed in the poem 35/10, by Sharon Olds; the figurative language and connotation of specific words used by Olds add to the ominous replacement of old with young.

Paragraph 1: The title of the poem itself has its own connotation which helps the reader better understand the setting and theme of the story.

-The title "35/10" literally denotes to being two separate numbers, one greater than the other. The denotation of the word has little meaning and can confuse the reader; the only thing the title gives is the impression that something is greater, in size, than the other.

-The connotation of the title provides much more meaning to the reader. "35/10" can be attributed to the ages of the parent and daughter. This, paired with the denotation of the word, gives the reader proper information regarding the age of the mother and daughter, it allows the reader to better understand the poem by giving context.

Paragraph 2: The use of specific diction allows the author to illustrate the true separation of the daughter and her mother.

-"Brushing out our daughter's brown/ silken hair before the mirror/ I see the grey gleaming on my head,/ the silver hair servant behind her." (1-4)

-The poet uses "Brown" and "Grey" to signify hari color, but also to signify age, The denotations of these colors are of how old, or young, the person is. The grey haired mother, the "servant", is visibly changing, the streaks grey "gleaming" as an imminent sign of aging. The daughter's hair however is brown and silken, her hair is youthful and new. The denotations of the words grey and brown add to the comparison of ages and the overall theme of replacement.

Paragraph 3: The figurative language used by Olds further exagerates the age difference between the daughter and her mother.

-As my skin shows/ its dry pitting, she opens like a moist/ precise flower on the tip of a cactus; / as my last chances to bear a child/ are falling through my body, the duds among them,/ her full purse of eggs, round and / firm as hard-boiled yolks, is about / to snap its clasp" (8-15)
-The daughter is said to be like a budding flower on the tip of a cactus and having a purse full of eggs. These comparisons compare the daughter to new things. The flower is representative of new and youthful, the flower is blooming with a purse full of eggs. The blooming and purse represents puberty and the maturation of the daughter. These comparissons emphasize the daughter's maturation and imply that she is to come up and replace her mother who's "[eggs] are falling through [her] body". The daughter is set to replace her mother as nature always does.