Poetry Analysis: "Marks"

While reading “Marks,” by Linda Pastan, I felt extremely sorry for the woman speaking. The woman is a mother and a wife, but is being judged constantly by her family. I liked how Pastan compared the judgements of the woman’s family to grades one would get in school. I think this comparison show readers how the woman is viewed by her family as a student, or possibly a servant, but she fails to impress them. Towards the end of the poem, I felt somewhat hopeful because the daughter tells her mother that she “passes,” and although this could be seen as positive, the mother is still being judged nonetheless. The last line of the poem is the shortest line but it is the most powerful one as well. The mother states she is “dropping out,” from the judgements of her family.