Rite of Passage

Sharon Olds’s “Rite of Passage” is a free-verse poem presented in a single 26-line stanza. The title suggests that the poem will involve some sort of ritual denoting entry into another phase of life, with commons rites of passage including going through puberty, learning to drive, and graduating from high school or college. Instead, the poem describes the scene of a birthday party for the speaker’s son. As the poem unfolds, it becomes clear that the rite of passage is not the birthday party itself but the entry of a young boy into a world filled with violence.

The beginning of the poem sets up the expectation that this is a party for an adult son, filled with what the speaker describes as “short men” (Line 3), but this is quickly clarified by the speaker when she states these are “men in first grade” (Line 3). Immediately, this initial misleading sets up a comparison between the behavior of the young boys at the party and that of adult men, and it establishes the wry tone that the speaker uses throughout the poem.

These short men gather in the living room, where the speaker describes them as having “smooth jaws and chins” (Line 4), hinting at the youthfulness of the guests while also denoting a sense of their inexperience and naivete.