A Study Guide for Eve Merriam's "Two People I Want to Be Like"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Eve Merriam's "Two People I Want to Be Like," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Sep 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535841733

Book preview

11

Two People I Want to Be Like

Eve Merriam

1983

Introduction

A poet inspired as much by her passion for language as by social and political issues, Eve Merriam wrote for a wide range of audiences. Well known for fiction, plays, and poetry, Merriam composed numerous volumes of poetry for children. If Only I Could Tell You: Poems for Young Lovers and Dreamers, published in 1983, is one such volume. The work contains a simple poem about admiration and love, Two People I Want to Be Like. In this free-verse poem, Merriam paints a portrait of two characters. One is a man who, despite being stuck in traffic, opts to stay calm and happy. The other is a woman who works as a clerk in a grocery store. Merriam describes the woman as she helps customers during rush hour; the clerk, like the man, remains smiling and unflustered by the hustle and bustle surrounding her. The speaker in Merriam's poem imagines the two people together, married, and then speculates that perhaps it is better they are not. Apart, they may be better able to share their harmonious natures with others. Through this poem Merriam conjures an idealized vision of two individuals and additionally projects an innocent view of love and purpose. Included in a poetry collection aimed at young readers, Two People I Want to Be Like captures a youthful perspective and at the same time creates a positive outlook on adulthood, and possibly marriage, for her readers.

Two People I Want to Be Like was originally published by Alfred Knopf in the volume If Only I Could Tell You: Poetry for Young Lovers and Dreamers in 1983. Currently, much of Merriam's poetry, including this volume, is out of print. The poem can still be found in some textbooks, including Glencoe Literature: Reading with Purpose, Active Learning and Note Taking Guide, Course 2, published by McGraw-Hill in