Margaret Atwood’s
poem, Habitation, talks about the
challenges of marriage. The poem is basically stating that the idea of marriage
is still almost primitive; something humans cannot quite understand and need to
work at. It is not natural to humans. Atwood is also saying that marriage is
work, and needs to be built from the ground up. Furthermore, Habitation describes the core of a
marriage. Atwood is saying that marriage is based only on love, not physical
trappings. The idea of a home and white picket fence is not what binds a couple
for a lifetime.
Atwood uses many
analytical shapes in Habitation.
Firstly, the way the poem is written is almost backwards. It starts speaking of
a home, and then moves to the edge of a desert, to glaciers, to making fire. I think
this further illustrates the idea that a marriage is written from the ground
up. On a page, the last line of the poem about making fire is the most
primitive idea, and it moves all the way up to “A marriage/is not a house or
even a tent” (line 1-2). This aesthetic device shows the reader that marriage
takes a long time and needs to have a solid foundation to grow on. The
innovation of fire has been the basis of so much growth and progress in society
today. In the poem, building fire represents the idea that relationships need
to be built off of something strong that can sustain a couple, like love. Fire
represents passion, which is needed to fuel a relationship and keep a couple
strong through marriage.
Another aesthetic
device Atwood uses in Habitation is
repetition of the word edge. She uses
the word three times, first the edge of a forest, then the edge of a desert,
and finally the edge of a receding glacier. The three different places could be
where a relationship is headed. I think Atwood is stating that couples may not
know what they are getting themselves into when they agree to marry. At the
edge of a desert, couples could be heading into a life-threatening situation,
and Atwood is saying that the basis marriage is very difficult to keep alive. The
edge of a receding glacier could mean that couples might feel like they are
trapped with no where to go but down, and will drown themselves trying so hard
to make a relationship work. Also, the repetition of the word edge may mean that happiness in a marriage
is always on the edge; arguments are constantly on the verge and can happen
over the most miniscule problems.
The last
analytical shape Atwood uses is the way she breaks up the poem. The first
section basically introduces where the poem is heading. Each section is broken
up by idea. The last section is just one line, “we are learning to make fire”
which stands alone because the only thing that will really create a strong
marriage is passion and love, symbolized by fire. Atwood’s poem uses many
aesthetic devices and shows that marriage needs to be built from the ground up,
the basis being love.
