Adrienne Rich was an American poet, essayist, and feminist. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 16, 1929. Her work in the literary field 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 around that time. Her phenomenal work is 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 while daydreaming and hoping that her relationship would never experience difficulties or trials. However, her imagination turned against her and reality took over. Adrienne Rich uses colorful language with the implication of intense choice of diction and rhetorical devices to adequately describe the sadness the woman faces in the poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not 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 sorrow over her relationship. The first two lines of the poem begin with: “She had thought that the workshop would continue; no dust on the furniture of love” (1-2). This quote shows that the woman imagined a perfect relationship at first, but over time, problems and problems began to arise, causing her to lose interest and affection for her partner. The author makes a wise choice in using the word “dust” to replace the problems in the poem. Once problems and problems arise in the couple's relationship, the love begins to fade and the woman is no longer interested. The word “furniture” can be defined as the couple’s life or their relationship, which makes the first two lines of the poem very meaningful. 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, are all found in the poem. She uses these two detailed words to describe the woman's thoughts and feelings that she is currently facing in her relationship. The author also mentions: “Meanwhile, he, yawning, played a dozen notes on the keyboard, declared them out of tune” (15-17). This quote can be classified as a metaphor, Rich uses the word keyboard in this metaphor to make a related connection to the couple's relationship. While the statement “declared out of tune” can be referred to as the complications the relationship is currently facing. Another quote mentioned in the poem, "this cold morning light outlined the remains of last night's cheese and three sepulchral bottles" (9-11). This quote best describes that the couple's relationship is no longer enjoyable and is starting to deteriorate, just like last night's leftover cheese. Rich also uses the three sepulchral bottles to show the action of the woman discouraged by her relationship, which forces her to consume all three bottles. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Overall, Adrienne Rich's poem, "Living in Sin," sets an example of how relationships cannot always be perfect. Most relationships these days fail because when difficult times arise, the.