Analyzing the Poem My Ex-Husband by Gabrielle Stella - Essay Example

In the poem, my ex-Husband, the components of poetry are in use to convey appropriate messages to the reader (Spera, 29). This poem is a soliloquy of a person recalling what transpired between her and her husband. Spera, in this piece of art, uses an indifferent tone, a figurative tool known as hyperbole, and verbal irony to convey the intensity of the poem.

In the poem, there is the use of narration, character, setting, tone and style, structure, and theme to convey the author’s message. This survey however will restrict itself to the thematic connotation of the poem. The paper will highlight different themes in the poem and how they are used to meet the intentions of the poem. The objective of this paper is to identify the theme as a character, highlight its importance concerning this piece of art and thereafter provide a conclusion based on the mentioned facts.

Treachery is a theme in this poem. On the portrait of her husband, there is a smile. However, the woman says the smile is deceptive. She uses sarcasm to say that the husband smiled as if he were in love with her (Spera, 29). She believes that whoever is in love with you, can’t cheat on you, therefore, the husbands' smile was deceptive and she regrets framing the picture. The deceptive theme explains the character of her husband as a dishonest person. This theme further develops infidelity as a theme. It also develops the plot of the poem. For instance, it’s after the woman explains the dishonest smile that she describes the physical traits of her man.

Infidelity is a thematic composition seen in the poem. The woman says that her man knew the most romantic spots in town and waiters knew his face and reserved the half-hidden place in the corner nook. The interpretation of this is that the husband, used to take various dates in known romantic outlets and waiters knew about it and to hide his activities, reserved private places for him. The woman further says the husband flirted, which was okay, but he was in excess and thus she could not tolerate it. This theme brings the flow of the poem. For instance, it is due to infidelity that the woman explains her breakup with her husband. She develops the plot of the poem by giving proof of her husband’s infidelity. The woman can know what’s on the mind of his date and it’s the reason why she divorced her husband. It is from here that she uses infidelity to develop the plot of the poem.  This theme further develops the character of her ex-husband as an extravagant fellow. He preferred not to go to any place with checkered tables and on wine; he imported champagne from Murano Italy.

In conclusion, the thematic characters of the poem depict a strong female persona. The woman finds strength amidst a cheating husband who seems like any woman’s perfect match. She ultimately discovers that her spouse is disloyal to her. These themes depict the woman’s view of her husband as contemptuous since he was a cheat and slobbish in conducting his affairs. Gabriella Spera has managed to portray the character of the woman, of her ex-husband by use of themes.