Published in The Dead and the Living in 1984, Sharon Olds's "Rite of Passage" is a poem about the roots of male violence. The poem's speaker, the mother of a boy in first grade, observes the aggressive, competitive behavior of the boys at her son's birthday party. The group bonds over her son's boast that "We could easily kill a two-year-old," a fantasy that ironically contrasts with his innocent appearance and physical vulnerability. The poem portrays this kind of aggression as an imitation of, and an initiation into, the violent culture of grown men.

• Read the full text of “Rite of Passage”

• “Rite of Passage” Summary

• “Rite of Passage” Themes

  • 

    Masculinity and Violence

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-26

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Rite of Passage”

  • Lines 1-4

    As the guests ...
    ... jaws and chins.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-8

    Hands in pockets, ...
    ... —I'm seven. —So?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-12

    They eye each ...
    ... arms and frown.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 12-15

    I could beat ...
    ... on the table.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 15-20

    My son, ...
    ... out of me,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 20-23

    speaks up as ...
    ... his clear voice.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 23-26

    The other ...
    ... my son's life.

    

    

    

    

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• “Rite of Passage” Symbols

  • 

    Childhood Competition

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-10
    • Lines 12-15
    • Lines 22-26

• “Rite of Passage” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “jostling, jockeying”
    • Line 8: “Six,” “seven,” “So”
    • Line 12: “fold,” “frown”
    • Line 13: “seven says,” “six”
    • Line 15: “turret,” “table”
    • Line 16: “cheeks”
    • Line 17: “chest”
    • Line 26: “celebrating,” “son's”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “pockets”
    • Line 6: “jostling, jockeying”
    • Line 13: “seven says”
    • Line 16: “freckles,” “specks,” “nutmeg”
    • Line 26: “playing,” “celebrating”

  • Irony

    

    

    

    

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    Where irony appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “short men, men in first grade / with smooth jaws and chins.”
    • Lines 15-26: “My son, / freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, / chest narrow as the balsa keel of a / model boat, long hands / cool and thin as the day they guided him / out of me, speaks up as a host / for the sake of the group. / We could easily kill a two-year-old / , / he says in his clear voice. The other / men agree, they clear their throats / like Generals, they relax and get down to / playing war, celebrating my son's life.”

  • Parallelism

    

    

    

    

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    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “short men, men in first grade”
    • Line 6: “jostling, jockeying for place,”
    • Lines 9-12: “They eye each other, seeing themselves / tiny in the other’s pupils. They clear their / throats a lot, a room of small bankers, / they fold their arms and frown.”
    • Lines 16-20: “freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, / chest narrow as the balsa keel of a / model boat, long hands / cool and thin as the day they guided him / out of me,”
    • Lines 24-26: “they clear their throats / like Generals, they relax and get down to / playing war, celebrating my son's life.”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “party / they”
    • Lines 3-4: “grade / with”
    • Lines 5-6: “around / jostling”
    • Lines 7-8: “another / How”
    • Lines 9-10: “themselves / tiny”
    • Lines 10-11: “their / throats”
    • Lines 12-13: “you / up”
    • Lines 14-15: “a / turret”
    • Lines 17-18: “a / model”
    • Lines 18-19: “hands / cool”
    • Lines 19-20: “him / out”
    • Lines 20-21: “host / for”
    • Lines 23-24: “other / men”
    • Lines 24-25: “throats / like”
    • Lines 25-26: “to / playing”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “men, men”
    • Line 6: “jostling, jockeying,” “place, small”
    • Line 7: “calming. One”
    • Line 8: “you? —Six. —I'm seven. —So?”
    • Line 9: “other, seeing”
    • Line 10: “pupils. They”
    • Line 11: “lot, a”
    • Lines 12-12: “frown. / I”
    • Lines 13-13: “up, / a”
    • Line 14: “cake, round”
    • Line 15: “turret, behind,” “table. My”
    • Line 18: “boat, long”
    • Line 20: “me, speaks”
    • Line 23: “voice. The”
    • Line 24: “agree, they”
    • Line 25: “Generals, they”
    • Line 26: “war, celebrating”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Lines 14-15: “the midnight cake, round and heavy as a / turret,”
    • Lines 16-20: “freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, / chest narrow as the balsa keel of a / model boat, long hands / cool and thin as the day they guided him / out of me,”
    • Lines 24-25: “they clear their throats / like Generals,”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “short men, men in first grade / with smooth jaws and chins.”
    • Line 6: “jockeying for place”
    • Lines 10-11: “They clear their / throats a lot, a room of small bankers,”
    • Lines 23-24: “The other / men agree,”

• “Rite of Passage” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Jockeying
  • Midnight cake
  • Turret
  • Nutmeg
  • Keel
  • Balsa
  • Model boat
  • (Location in poem: Lines 5-6: “they stand around / jostling, jockeying for place,”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Rite of Passage”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Rite of Passage” Speaker

• “Rite of Passage” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Rite of Passage”

• More “Rite of Passage” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poem Aloud — Watch Olds read "Rite of Passage" (starting at 18:35).

    • The Poet's Life and Work — A biography of Olds at the Poetry Foundation.

    • An Interview with the Poet — Olds discusses the challenges of writing about family.

    • A Talk by the Poet — Watch Olds deliver a lecture on the craft of poetry.

    • The Poet's Website — Browse books and media related to Sharon Olds at her website.

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