"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis: Tone

       In the poem "Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis,  the tone is set immediately in the first line.  The speaker describes the husband and wife as "inmates," (Mathis, 896).  Most readers do not perceive married couples as unhappy prisoners that "beat the walls" (Mathis, 896).  These phrases set a dark, unhappy, and unpleasant tone for the rest of the poem.  There is a dramatic change in tone between lines 14 and 15.  For the first two stanzas the speaker is angry and talking about how bad the relationship was, but at line 15 the speaker says, "still I'm startled by men who look like you," (Mathis, 896).  This line shows that the speaker is not angry with the husband but still has fond feelings for him.  The narrator also shows that they still have feelings for each other is at the end when she says that on the last day "...We held on tight, and let go," (Mathis, 896).  This also shows that the speaker still loves him.  The tone becomes lighter and one of sorrow after line 14.