“Everything has to come to an end, sometime”(Baum). Relationships are tough, they require time and effort, but sometimes that isn’t enough. Most people work a 9 to 5 job, they don’t need another job. When they come home they want someone there who understands their quirks, but loves them anyway. William Baer describes a relationship that cannot be supported by love anymore in “Letter of Resignation. ” The narrator of the poem writes a letter of resignation to his fiance as if he were quitting a job.
Baer goes off the traditional English sonnet path in order to enhance his diction and convey to his fiance that their relationship is over, even though he loves her. The poem is written in the form of a resignation letter to create a picture, which is emphasized by the author’s word choice. There are only so many words in the dictionary, yet there are infinite possibilities. Baer exaggerates the problems in his relationship, comparing it to a job. Jobs are stressful and there is no guarantee of satisfaction or happiness. The author feels that his partner is taking him for granted and that “the job provides too little satisfaction” (Baer 980).
Relationships require work, however that doesn’t mean they should be a job. Baer utilizes metaphors and analogies, hoping that his fiancee will understand that he needs to move on. There is a reason the author choose a job as comparison because there are “uncertain working conditions” and his “on-call overtime is taken for granted” (Baer 980). In the author’s mind, the relationship is too much work and the only way to tell his fiancee is using the analogy of a job. Baer could have told his fiancee that they needed to part ways, but it wouldn’t have meant the same thing. The “benefits are few and far between” or the both of them and continuing their relationship will only cause more damage (Baer 981).
At the same time, he intends to let his fiancee know that even though there were only a few benefits, there were still parts of the relationship he enjoyed. The purpose of writing the resignation letter to his fiancee was not to break up with her, but rather to tell her he still loves her even if they part ways. The author still cares for his fiancee and the audience knows that writing this letter is tough for him because he begins the poem saying “after much deliberation. without qualm, scruple, or further delay” (Baer 980).
It isn’t necessary for the author to tell his fiancee that breaking up is hard for him. However, he does this to soften the blow for the both of them. There is great sadness in leaving a loved one. Still, the author is hopeful that by writing this letter, his fiancee knows he regrets that the relationship isn’t working (Baer 981). All Baer had to do was say that he wasn’t committed to the relationship anymore, but that their is still love for his fiancee. Instead, he wrote a “letter of resignation” so that his fiancee would know that he respected and loved her enough to sit down and write out why he cannot be with her anymore.
The whole idea of the poem explains why the author is writing this letter. In most cases a man will not take the time to explain the love he still has for a woman while he is parting ways with her. The author chose specific words to exemplify what he felt in his heart. At first glance, the audience is lead to believe the poem is an English sonnet, however Baer goes off the traditional path and utilizes the base of an English sonnet to create his own style. Part of the reasoning behind this is so that Baer doesn’t loose the true meaning of the poem in order to stick to a strict format.
The traditional English sonnet, also known as the Shakespearean sonnet, typically has a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. The English sonnet is formatted into three quatrains and a couplet (Meyer 975). Baer, on the other hand, writes his poem with a rhyme scheme of abab acac dede ff. Instead of creating a new rhyme for lines 5 and 7, Baer continues with the same rhyme as lines 1 and 3. By repeating the the rhyme scheme from the first stanza into the second, the author is able to rhyme “deliberation, resignation, satisfaction, and interaction” (Baer 980). Without these key words the meaning of the poem may not have been as clear.
Even if the meaning was still the same there would be a disconnect between the audience’s thoughts and feeling in comparison to the authors. Baer’s rhyme scheme is not exactly the tradition English sonnet, yet it still manages to follow the original formatting. “Letter of Resignation” is considered an English sonnet and at the same time is able to possess it’s own style and meaning. Baer illustrates what the ending of a relationship feels like in the poem by using metaphors and analogies. The author’s word choice helps to depict a clear picture of how the relationships makes him feel.
The audience is taken back to their past relationships that have ended poorly due to “too many hours of unneeded duress” (Baer 980). A picture is being painted where the audience can see a couple struggling to make their relationship last. Anyone who has experienced any type of struggle knows exactly what the author is feeling. The author is finally realizing that sometimes love isn’t enough to keep a relationship going. The hassle of loving someone who doesn’t put in the same effort is depleting and sooner or later the person won’t be able to go on.
The author speaks about not feeling important and being walked over by his partner by stating “pay-wise, I’m undervalued and disenchanted” (Baer 980). The author is no longer happy being used and needs to part ways for his own well being. Personally I know this feeling all too well. One of my friends is selfish and thinks of only her well being instead of others. Years of friendship mean nothing at this point because to her l’m nothing more than a walking partner to talk to when no one else is around. The author uses the analogy of a job in his relationship and that is exactly how | feel.
My friendship with her has become a job and is no longer worth the stress. Even though I have great memories and still like her as a person the friendship isn’t working anymore. The poem makes a connection to anyone who has felt the same way as the author does through word choice and imagery. Every sentence creates a clearer picture than the last and by the end the reader is bonded to the audience. Love is the most important part of a relationship, however it is not the only part. In any type of relationship both people need to put in an effort and even then sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.
Baer writes a “letter” to his fiancee that the love he has for her is no longer enough to continue their relationship. Word choice can make or break a poem, without the proper diction the audience can be lost to the true meaning. The poem can have style and a wide vocabulary. However, one of the most important aspects of a poem is to create a picture for the audience with imagery. Baer strays away from the rhyme scheme of an English sonnet to create not only a better picture in the audience’s mind, but a stronger connection in their hearts. In the end, the author wanted to convey his love for his fiancee.