Comparing Poems Adultery And Leaving The Motel

There are two types of men in this world; men who want sex without a  relationship and men who want sex to mean forever. While Snodgrass's "Leaving the Motel" and Dickey's "Adultery" depicts these two types of men and encompass the theme of adultery, they are incredibly different poems. The couples experience different sexual relationships, they experience different feelings of guilt, and the tone used by the narrator in the poems elicit different experiences for the men involved. 

The narrator in "Adultery" is the kind of man who only wants sex and nothing more. He clarifies this by only being worried about his reputation and doesn't care about the woman he's accompanied by. We know that the narrator doesn't want anything more besides sex because he says, "Although we come together, Nothing will come of us." This quote from Dickey has a double meaning because they arrived at the motel together, and they both climaxed simultaneously during their lovemaking. Despite their sexual chemistry, he doesn't want to be with her. He only cares for himself, as evident by, "A wristwatch by the bed to see how much longer we have left." He keeps checking his watch to see how long it's been and when it's acceptable to go home. He never mentions anything nice about his lady friend, only that she cries before and after sex.  He doesn't think about the consequences or has any regard to what might happen to the woman if she gets caught or what would happen to her reputation. We also know that Dickey has no intention of seeing her again because he says, "When I am in town. I will call you. If I can." He has no sense of seeing her again. 

The exact opposite is true for the relationship in, "Leaving the Motel." The narrator values their time together and doesn't want to leave. He buys her flowers and tries to keep them alive for as long as possible, stating, "An aspirin to preserve our lilacs." He cares more than just about sex. He wants to see her again because he says, "We can't tell when we'll come back, can't press the claim." Even though they don't plan to see each other, they know they will meet again and enjoy another experience. 

Guilt is caused when one violates a specific code of conduct or ethics. In “Leaving the Motel,” their passion and pleasure override any sense of guilt. "Keep things straight: don't make the matches, the wrong key rings--we've to know nowhere we could keepsake Ashtrays, combs things…." The couple in "Leaving the Motel" has met up multiple times before. They have met up enough to know what they're doing and not get caught. After meeting up a significant amount of times, there is no guilt, only enjoyment, and satisfaction. 

Conversely, in James Dickey's "Adultery," the couple is full of guilt, as evident by, "We have all been in rooms. We cannot die in…." This means that he knows what he is doing is wrong and that if he were to die here, everyone would know that he was a cheater. Despite this guilt, he still goes through with it. Afterward, he says, "One could never die here." He knows what he did was wrong and feels guilty about it. Then to try to make himself feel better, he says, "still living. Sit up and smile; God bless you. Guilt is magical" He knows what he did was wrong and is trying to justify it, so he doesn't feel as guilty. Guilt makes the relationship feel exciting and new. 

The men in the poems both commit adultery and have different experiences. The tone of each poem portrays the experiences and guilt. This tone in “Leaving the Motel” is repetitive because of the ABAB and CDCD rhyme scheme. Is routine-like and formal. Also, it's a checklist. "Check: is the second bed uncoupled...Check: take nothing of one another…." The repetition and rhyme scheme makes it seem like they do this a lot, and at the beginning of the poem, it looks emotionless. But the tone shifts at the end when he mentions the lilacs and wanting to see her again. 

In comparison, The tone in “Adultery” is bleak. The poem starts with, “We have all been in rooms we cannot die in.” The mention of death gives the poem a dark and sad feeling, which makes his affair seem even more miserable. There isn’t a rhyme scheme to it. But there is a switch in manner. At first, he’s guilty and ashamed, but in the end, he’s still guilty but accepts it and praises it. 

The poems are clear that both types are prone to adultery, whether you are a man who just likes sex or a man who wants the intimacy of love. People have affairs for many reasons. Some may like the rush, or others might have a genuine connection to another person. Despite both these poems being about men having affairs, the poems were significantly different. They had a different relationship between couples, feeling of guilt, and tones. But both poems were well written and illustrated the controversial topic of affairs.