Like most of Sharon Olds’s early work, “Rite of Passage” employs free verse, meaning that it lacks a formal rhyme scheme or regular meter, using shorter-length lines that create a sensation of fast movement down the page. The poem is short and written in everyday language and tone. This makes the poem feel as if the speaker is telling a story in ordinary, conversational language. Olds’s work, much like the Confessional poets that came before her, like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, as well as many poets of the mid- to late 20th century and today, often incorporates this conversational style of writing. Olds’s work is often praised for its everyday language and accessibility, as it appeals to a large number of readers who may have a less formal understanding of rhythm, meter, and other poetic constraints.

The majority of lines, with a few exceptions, are enjambed, meaning they continue from one line to the next without end punctuation. This lends to the poem’s conversational tone and also helps speed the poem along considerably.