The speaker begins by introducing the poem's main characters: Maud and Sadie. Using a very straightforward, matter-of-fact tone, the speaker notes that Maud "went to college" while Sadie "stayed at home." Right away, then, the poem juxtaposes the paths each woman takes through life, establishing a contrast between Maud's attempt to expand her horizons and Sadie's decision to remain behind.
Because "Sadie and Maud" was published in 1945, readers should bear in mind the cultural dynamics surrounding gender roles in the mid-20th century. At that time, it was much more common for women to focus on family life than leave home to pursue higher education. The poem also appeared in Gwendolyn Brooks's A Street in Bronzeville, which largely focuses on the experiences of Black women. This adds some context to "Sadie and Maud." It seems likely that both women are Black, making it even more remarkable that Maud goes to college—an opportunity available to very few Black women in the 1940s.
Bearing this in mind, the beginning of the poem seems to set readers up to view Maud as the one who will lead a more fulfilling life, since she leaves Sadie behind to supposedly attain upward mobility. However, the poem will challenge this idea as Sadie and Maud's respective life stories unfold.
Lines 3 and 4, for instance, feature a metaphor that frames Sadie as meticulous and careful: "Sadie scraped life / With a fine-tooth comb," the speaker says. To go over something "with a fine-tooth comb" means to very thoroughly and attentively analyze or consider it. This metaphor therefore suggests that Sadie doesn't stay at home because she leads a passive life and can't be bothered to expand her horizons, but because she's somebody who squeezes everything she can out of life. In other words, her home life is rewarding and worthy of her attention.
This opening quatrain also establishes the poem's ABCB rhyme scheme, as the speaker rhymes "home" in line 2 with "comb" in line 4:
Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed at home.
Sadie scraped life
With a fine-tooth comb.
This rhyme scheme makes the speaker's language sound cohesive and song-like. It also goes well with the speaker's use of end-stops in lines 1, 2, and 4, contributing to the poem's clipped tone and its rhythmic pulse—both of which make the poem sound almost like a nursery rhyme or even a cautionary tale.