Her Kind by Anne Sexton (Analysis)
Theme: All humans at some point in life feel ostracized by society which can lead to a life of solitude and loneliness in a frantic search for our identity.
Discussion Question: Do you believe that female oppression is still an issue in society today? If not, how has society evolved in that females are more empowered?
SUMMARY
Significant Literary Devices: imagery, syntax, repetition, allusion, conceit, rhyme scheme
Anne Sexton's 'Her Kind' is a poem in which the speaker's pain is expressed through vivid imagery and dismal repetition. The title of this poem is a portion of the refrain, "I have been her kind" seen in lines 17, 14 and 21. This eludes the reader into thinking they are in the third person observing the speaker's own life. However, we are actually accompanying them as they peer into the lives of others who are each given different labels such as the witch, the distressed housewife and the persecuted. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABABCBC which is seven lines, an odd number, which shows that while there indeed is a pattern it is not an even amount of lines which is done purposely to represent the irregularity and imbalance in the life of the speaker. In the first stanza we see a lonesome witch who lurks her neighbourhood solemnly. In the second stanza we peer into the "warm caves"(8) which are where the tedious mother/wife resides who constantly perfects things due to the lack of structure in her own life. The third and most powerful stanza we see the martyr who is self-empowered and remains true to herself as she rides in a cart towards her death. The phrases "ridden in your cart"(15) and "flames still bite my thigh"(18) are allusions to the Salem Witch Trials in which "witches" rode in carts to be burned at the stake. Imagery is a significant device in this poem which assists in helping the reader understand the speaker's suffering from the isolation she faces from society. Using terms such as "twelve fingered" (5), "lonely thing" (5)
Discussion Question: Do you believe that female oppression is still an issue in society today? If not, how has society evolved in that females are more empowered?
SUMMARY
Significant Literary Devices: imagery, syntax, repetition, allusion, conceit, rhyme scheme
Anne Sexton's 'Her Kind' is a poem in which the speaker's pain is expressed through vivid imagery and dismal repetition. The title of this poem is a portion of the refrain, "I have been her kind" seen in lines 17, 14 and 21. This eludes the reader into thinking they are in the third person observing the speaker's own life. However, we are actually accompanying them as they peer into the lives of others who are each given different labels such as the witch, the distressed housewife and the persecuted. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABABCBC which is seven lines, an odd number, which shows that while there indeed is a pattern it is not an even amount of lines which is done purposely to represent the irregularity and imbalance in the life of the speaker. In the first stanza we see a lonesome witch who lurks her neighbourhood solemnly. In the second stanza we peer into the "warm caves"(8) which are where the tedious mother/wife resides who constantly perfects things due to the lack of structure in her own life. The third and most powerful stanza we see the martyr who is self-empowered and remains true to herself as she rides in a cart towards her death. The phrases "ridden in your cart"(15) and "flames still bite my thigh"(18) are allusions to the Salem Witch Trials in which "witches" rode in carts to be burned at the stake. Imagery is a significant device in this poem which assists in helping the reader understand the speaker's suffering from the isolation she faces from society. Using terms such as "twelve fingered" (5), "lonely thing" (5)