sume, without accents, means to take up after interruption (Websters 1937), which is appropriate to the poem. Resume, with accents, means a summary, particularly a brief account of ones education and professional experience (Websters 1937), as if the poem summarizes the speaker's experiences in the area of suicide. In fact, Parker attempted suicide four times. (Breese xxxv)In General Review of the Sex Situation, the speaker contrasts attitudinal differences between the sexes regarding intimacy. Parker again has utilized the title of the poem in an intentionally sarcastic manner. The statement General Review of the Sex Situation represents a detached, emotionless commentary of an emotional human ideal, intimacy. Parker employs double consciousness to provide insight about how men and women feel about relationships. In the final two lines of General Review of the Sex Situation, Parker reveals her disparaging view of relationships:With this the gist and sum of it,What earthly good can come of it? (7-8)By comparing Parkers three poems in the text it is apparent that her poetry is rich with irony and satire. Irony can entail humor, and often there is a serious edge to or point behind the humor, as in the title and development of these poems. Parkers poetry undeniably provides a window into her life and a social commentary of the 1920s and 1930s. Her major themes of love, loneliness, and death are not only presented in the three examples cited in this paper but are consistent with all of her work. Parkers attitude toward human folly was satiric; her poems make readers pay attention to who is speaking and the implications of these messages. Parker forces readers to read behind and between the lines of her deceptively simple situations in order for the reader to appreciate her art fully . Parker held true to her conviction, of which she stated, The purpose of a writer is to say what he feels and sees. (Breese xxiii)...
