Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

"Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law” is divided into 10 sections; each section contains one to three stanzas. There is no pattern as to the how the stanzas and sections are divided except with respect to the content: Each section presents an independent "snapshot." The poem is penned in free verse which largely mimics the flow of natural speech, thus lacking any structured rhyme or rhythm. The use of free verse also uses enjambment—a technique involving the continuation of a thought from one line to another without end stop punctuation. Rich liberally uses enjambment: In Lines 12-13, she writes, “Nervy, glowering, your daughter / wipes the teaspoons, grows another way.”

The form of "Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law” is distinctly different from that of Rich’s previous poetry, which employed more formal and conventional metrical structures. The thematic content of the poem involving the exploration of a woman’s place in society and the restrictions placed upon her, also marks a deviation in the subject matter she tackled prior to this. The choice of free verse goes hand-in-hand with the poem’s subject and themes, as Rich breaks from more traditional and conventional poetic styles and structures as she explores how women must break away from social conventions.