available, attractive."1 This is quite ironic as the two women in the poems are presented as worn out, unattractive and nothing to be admired,
             "Her clothes are out of date."2
             are two examples of how these women are presented. Irony is also presented in Suburban Sonnet. Her home is not a haven, pots boiling over, children fighting and dead mice present negative imagery that suggests to the reader that this woman has given up on or is struggling to conform to the domestic, motherhood role. Within In the Park motherhood is presented as tedious and negative. Her children are encumbrances rather than joys. The first mention of her children starts off with,
             "Two children whine and bicker, tug her skirt."4
             Traditionally the relationship between a mother and her child is a sacred one, whereas in this poem she doesn't even introduce them as her own, rather as,
             This woman feels very enclosed by her children. When the woman is talking to her past love she dishonestly says, "Its so sweet to hear them chatter, watch them grow and thrive..."7 The woman feels she has to act out pretend love towards her children, as this is the traditional role of women – carer, nurturer. The techniques used in the two poems give insight to the way in which motherhood and domestic life are being presented.
             The use of short phrases in both the poems are a reflection of the lives of the two women presented and t
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