Poetry Motif
Poetry is recited throughout the play by various characters and it becomes a motif. The poems, in large part, seem to have no meaning, while some come in a form that is understood by the audience.
Starting Over
The Martins take the place of the Smiths as the play starts over at the end with the Martins reciting the Smith's lines from the beginning of the play. This is a symbol that with our inability to communicate people are becoming interchangeable.
Absurd
Mary reveals that Mr. and Mrs. Martin are actually not who they believe they are after their deduction of coincidences, that they actually do not know one another and do not have a child together. This is a symbol that even the most obvious circumstances of coincidence do not prove anything more than being a coincidence.
First Fires
The Fire Chief says that it was Mary who extinguished his first fires. This is a symbol of their once having a love between them that Mary ended.
The Fire
Mary recites a poem entitled The Fire. It is a symbol that everything in the world is catching fire and burning down, and nothing is exempt.
