The Good Life

Tracy K. Smith’s poem “The Good Life” begins with a sentence fragment, a subordinate clause that teases the reader without informing her just yet about the nature of the statement it is making. Even before it is grammatically completed in the second line, the interaction between the title and opening line already accomplishes a variety of effects. First, the topic of the title is confirmed immediately, foregrounding the subject matter of the poem before the reader has even a chance to reach the second line. The title “The Good Life” refers (at least) to its everyday meaning: a life of means, a life of money. Additionally, the conversational tone verging on cliché used in the first line “When some people talk about…” (Line 1), combined with the mundane idiom used for the title, creates a distinctly simple, vernacular tone that defines the poem moving forward. Finally, although the poem will go on to discuss the singular experience of the speaker, the title and first line emphasize a universal experience. Both the “Good Life” and “people talk[ing] about money” (Line 1) highlight common and widespread experience at the level of society rather than the individual.