“Marriage” by Gregory Corso and “The Long Marriage” by Maxine Kumin are two poems that obviously focus on the graceful ceremony of marriage. They both have many things alike and different concerning the wedding ceremony. Even though Corso’s view is more satirical, they both mainly center on their own personal marriage experiences, or lack thereof. These two poems themes are different although they are based on the same process.
The differences in the two poems are extremely noticeable. First, “Marriage” by Corso is a lot longer and preaches more to the reader like a sermon. He goes in to great details about the pain marriage will bring him and the reasons he would never want to get married. His example of meeting the parents and talking to the in-laws shows that Corso’s view of marriage is more repulsive and revolting. The only time he shows interest in getting married is when he he talks about how, “I should get married/ I should be good/ How nice it’d be to come home to her/ and sit by the fireplace and she in the kitchen/ aproned young and lovely wanting my baby/ and so happy about me she burns the roast beef/ and come crying to me and I get up from my big papa chair/ saying Christmas teeth!”
The last line of this shows that he is making a mockery of the only serious point he puts into the paper. He continues his sardonic view throughout the rest of the long and abnormal poem. “The Long Marriage” by Kumin is more of a plot for her dream wedding. She talks about the “sweet jazz” and the “sexual thrill of Peewee Russell’s clarinet.” Her romantic atmosphere emits a type of longing for the perfect wedding. She continues to name famous trombonists and pianists as she schemes what an ideal marriage should be. Kumin’s poem is shorter and more to the point while Corso’s poem seems to last forever while he shoots out idea after idea on why marriage is such a bad thing. His view stays the same throughout the whole paper while Kumin’s changes.
The two poems also have similarities that are visible. Even though Kumin’s poem is mostly about the elegancy of marriage, the second stanza is where it all changes drastically. She gives metaphoric reference that makes you feel as though she sees marriage the same way as Corso sees marriage: a giving in to the world’s thoughts. She refers to marriage “as the clattering horse hooves near.” She believes it to be something horrific. These thoughts lean more to Corso’s than to her original idea. Her drastic change in the second stanza makes you believe that she does not want to get married. She makes it clear by giving examples like “the shutting of the door.” Both the poems also give direct examples to certain people, places and things. Kumin’s poem talks about Jack Teagarden, Erroll Garner, and Glenn Miller while Corso’s poem has specific examples that include Tannu Tuva, Rimbaud, Della Trancesca, and Ingrid Bergman. They both show that marriage is something that is not in their future and they would both not want to induce something so terrible.
Both poems focus on marriage but can both be taken very different. They both give vivid examples of what marriage means to them and both are very opinionated. Both can be taken in many ways, but both remain strong on with their own views of marriage.