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Her Kind (poem)

January 01, 1970

"Her Kind" is a poem published in 1960 by American poet Anne Sexton.[1] Writing throughout the Cold War, Sexton was keenly aware of the economic importance of American housewives in the 1960s. "Her Kind" concludes with an "[un]ashamed" (20) confession of suicide-desire that individualizes death against a twentieth-century backdrop of genocide and survival anxiety.[2] The poem describes a witch in the night, then describes her as an unconventional housewife, and concludes with reference to Carl Dryer's The Passion of Joan of Arc.[3][4]

Form edit

"Her Kind" is divided into three seven-line stanzas with the refrain "I have been her kind" every seventh line. The refrain parodies popular advertising techniques of the 1960s, specifically "This Is Your Wife," campaigns that reduced women to specific social roles.[4]

Publication edit

"Her Kind" was published in Anne Sexton's first book, To Bedlam and Part Way Back, against the advice of her mentor, John Holmes. He warned her that she would regret her transparent and confessional style. Sexton understood this advice as Holmes' desire to censor her, and dedicated the first poem of the book's second section to him ("To John, Who Begs Me Not to Enquire Further"), after composing a letter she never sent to him.[4]

Themes edit

Motherhood during the Cold War edit

Sexton's experience with motherhood is portrayed in her speaker's self-depiction as a witch who tends to the "worms and the elves" (11).[5] Instead of human children, worms and elves represent perversity within the family unit, beginning with the witch mother.[4] Many 1960s American housewives were expected to perform the duty of motherhood, and their failure to perform maternal care would result in disapproval and shaming from their suburban peers.[6] Sexton, however, stated that instead of children, it was writing that "gave [her] a feeling of purpose, a little cause." Sexton's depiction of motherhood in "Her Kind" was socially considered to be a poor reflection upon both her family and the United States.[4]

Witches and communism edit

In an interview with Gregory Fitz Gerald, Sexton joked, "The Puritans would have burned me at the stake, of course."[7] In "Her Kind," Sexton identifies herself as a witch when she describes the various forms of social rebellion she has performed. In the first stanza, the witches' movement from the private sphere to the public sphere uses diction, such as "haunting" (2), "dreaming evil," and "done my hitch" (3) to portray sexist and capitalist fears of women in the public arena at the time.[4]

While the Cult of Domesticity located American women inside the home, under communism women were encouraged to work in the public sphere.[6] The diction used in the first stanza aligns the witches' physical agency with the then American paranoia of communism,[4] Her voyage outward to the "warm caves" subverts conventions of motherhood[8] in an animalistic fashion. However, the witch does still perform the domestic duties of a housewife as Sexton illuminates the consequences of automatically socializing girls and women into only maids, cooks, mothers, and homemakers.[9] The third stanza references Joan of Arc, the French icon who was burned at the stake in 1431 for the witch-like charge of summoning demons, but was later declared a saint in 1920.[10] Sexton's reference diffuses the significance of patriarchal labels as it is a reminder that the socially established distinction between a "witch" and a "saint" is both subjective and ambiguous.[11] In the second stanza, the witch attempts to perform domestic life inside the cave by filling it with common household objects and cooking dinner, but her consumerist approach at maternity is ultimately void of personal significance or meaning beyond her obligation to perform motherhood.[9] This section of the poem reflects the context of America's rising GDP from 1945 to 1960,[8] because women then began to substitute their female identities with commercial products due to consumerism. In a letter to her mother, Sexton wrote "my heart's desire is an electric mix-master with the orange juice squeezer on top." Sexton's sarcasm is a critique of the advertisement-crazed America as she experienced it.[4] In an interview with Patricia Marx, Sexton referred to the "brainwashing pablum of advertisements every minute"[12] that she parodies with the refrain in "Her Kind."[4]

Performance edit

"Her Kind" was always the first poem read by Sexton at public readings, and Sexton admitted that she derived an "orgasmic" pleasure from her performance.[4][3] Sexton once referred to her performance personality as a "little bit of a ham," and gave her readings only in theatrical outfits. She always had her nails polished and painted, a standard she had maintained since her modeling career.[3] It has been noted that Anne's own performance of femininity was inspired by her distant mother, Mary Gray Harvey. In her life, Harvey was celebrated for her unusually composed feminine demeanor and grand intellectual presence, only the latter she passed on to Anne.[9]

Criticism edit

Sexton sought to distance herself from what she described as "over-literary, over-intellectualized" early post-war poetry.[8][9][13] The most common complaint against Sexton's work, however, and especially so in To Bedlam and Part Way Back, is a perceived over-indulgence of the self, a hallmark of "confessional poetry."[4][8][14][15] John Holmes refuted her work on a fundamental level, stating that "her motives are wrong artistically."[9] Likewise, James Dickey found himself unable to appreciate Sexton's confessional style because it was too transparently autobiographical.[14] By contrast, other critics such as Robert Phillips and Laurence Lerner contend that the often exposed biographical content of confessional poetry displays bravery on the author's behalf.[14] Even though Sexton's confessional poetry is not solely rooted in fact,[12] critics like Patricia Meyer Spacks asked, "How can the reader properly respond to lines as grotesquely uncontrolled as these?"

References edit

  1. ^ Poets, Academy of American. "Her Kind by Anne Sexton - Poems | Academy of American Poets". poets.org. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  2. ^ Clifford, Clare Emily (2005). ""Suicides have a special language": Practicing literary suicide in Cold War American poetry". ProQuest Dissertations Publishing: 1–96.
  3. ^ a b c Alkalay-Gut, Karen (Fall 2005). "The Dream Life of Ms. Dog: Anne Sexton's Revolutionary Use of Pop Culture". College Literature. 32 (4): 61. doi:10.1353/lit.2005.0050. JSTOR 25115307. S2CID 170457243.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pollard, Claire (October 2006). "Her kind: Anne Sexton, the Cold War and the idea of the housewife". Critical Quarterly. 48 (3): 1–24. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8705.2006.00715.x.
  5. ^ Purkiss, Diane (2003). The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth-Century Representations. Routledge. pp. 1–4. ISBN 9780415087612.
  6. ^ a b Yeo, Eileen Janes (2005). "Constructing and Contesting Motherhood, 1750-1950". Hectate. 31 (2): 4–20.
  7. ^ Gerald, Gregory Fitz and Anne Sexton (1978). "The Choir from the Soul: A Conversation with Anne Sexton". The Massachusetts Review. 19 (1): 69–88. JSTOR 25088826.
  8. ^ a b c d Zhang, Xiaohong (2017). "The Personal is Political: A Comparative Study of Contemporary Chinese and American Confessional Poetry". Comparative Literature Studies. 54 (1): 31–51. doi:10.5325/complitstudies.54.1.0031. S2CID 152000593.
  9. ^ a b c d e Middlebrook, Diane Wood (1983). "Housewife into Poet: The Apprenticeship of Anne Sexton". The New England Quarterly. 56 (4): 483–503. doi:10.2307/365101. JSTOR 365101.
  10. ^ Wrenn, Andrew (2004). "Making learning drive assessment: Joan of Arc — saint, witch or warrior?". Teaching History (115): 44–51. JSTOR 43259108.
  11. ^ Crosbie, Lynn (1996). "Contextualizing Anne Sexton: Confessional process and feminist practice in "The Complete Poems"". ProQuest Dissertations Publishing: 1–291.
  12. ^ a b Marx, Patricia and Anne Sexton (1965). "Interview with Anne Sexton". The Hudson Review. 18 (4): 560–570. doi:10.2307/3849705. JSTOR 3849705.
  13. ^ Gill, Jo (June 2004). "Textual Confessions: Narcissism in Anne Sexton's Early Poetry". Twentieth Century Literature. 50 (1): 59–87. doi:10.2307/4149253. JSTOR 4149253.
  14. ^ a b c Gill, Jo (2004). "Anne Sexton and confessional poetics". Review of English Studies. 55 (220): 425–445. doi:10.1093/res/55.220.425. JSTOR 3661307.
  15. ^ Ostriker, Alicia (1 July 1982). "That Story: Anne Sexton and Her Transformations". The American Poetry Review. 11 (4): 11–16. JSTOR 27776967.

January 01, 1970
kind, poem, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, need, rewritten, comply, with, wikipedia, quality, standards, help, talk, page, contain, sugg. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions June 2019 This article is written like a personal reflection personal essay or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style June 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Her Kind is a poem published in 1960 by American poet Anne Sexton 1 Writing throughout the Cold War Sexton was keenly aware of the economic importance of American housewives in the 1960s Her Kind concludes with an un ashamed 20 confession of suicide desire that individualizes death against a twentieth century backdrop of genocide and survival anxiety 2 The poem describes a witch in the night then describes her as an unconventional housewife and concludes with reference to Carl Dryer s The Passion of Joan of Arc 3 4 Contents 1 Form 2 Publication 3 Themes 3 1 Motherhood during the Cold War 3 2 Witches and communism 4 Performance 5 Criticism 6 ReferencesForm edit Her Kind is divided into three seven line stanzas with the refrain I have been her kind every seventh line The refrain parodies popular advertising techniques of the 1960s specifically This Is Your Wife campaigns that reduced women to specific social roles 4 Publication edit Her Kind was published in Anne Sexton s first book To Bedlam and Part Way Back against the advice of her mentor John Holmes He warned her that she would regret her transparent and confessional style Sexton understood this advice as Holmes desire to censor her and dedicated the first poem of the book s second section to him To John Who Begs Me Not to Enquire Further after composing a letter she never sent to him 4 Themes editMotherhood during the Cold War edit Sexton s experience with motherhood is portrayed in her speaker s self depiction as a witch who tends to the worms and the elves 11 5 Instead of human children worms and elves represent perversity within the family unit beginning with the witch mother 4 Many 1960s American housewives were expected to perform the duty of motherhood and their failure to perform maternal care would result in disapproval and shaming from their suburban peers 6 Sexton however stated that instead of children it was writing that gave her a feeling of purpose a little cause Sexton s depiction of motherhood in Her Kind was socially considered to be a poor reflection upon both her family and the United States 4 Witches and communism edit In an interview with Gregory Fitz Gerald Sexton joked The Puritans would have burned me at the stake of course 7 In Her Kind Sexton identifies herself as a witch when she describes the various forms of social rebellion she has performed In the first stanza the witches movement from the private sphere to the public sphere uses diction such as haunting 2 dreaming evil and done my hitch 3 to portray sexist and capitalist fears of women in the public arena at the time 4 While the Cult of Domesticity located American women inside the home under communism women were encouraged to work in the public sphere 6 The diction used in the first stanza aligns the witches physical agency with the then American paranoia of communism 4 Her voyage outward to the warm caves subverts conventions of motherhood 8 in an animalistic fashion However the witch does still perform the domestic duties of a housewife as Sexton illuminates the consequences of automatically socializing girls and women into only maids cooks mothers and homemakers 9 The third stanza references Joan of Arc the French icon who was burned at the stake in 1431 for the witch like charge of summoning demons but was later declared a saint in 1920 10 Sexton s reference diffuses the significance of patriarchal labels as it is a reminder that the socially established distinction between a witch and a saint is both subjective and ambiguous 11 In the second stanza the witch attempts to perform domestic life inside the cave by filling it with common household objects and cooking dinner but her consumerist approach at maternity is ultimately void of personal significance or meaning beyond her obligation to perform motherhood 9 This section of the poem reflects the context of America s rising GDP from 1945 to 1960 8 because women then began to substitute their female identities with commercial products due to consumerism In a letter to her mother Sexton wrote my heart s desire is an electric mix master with the orange juice squeezer on top Sexton s sarcasm is a critique of the advertisement crazed America as she experienced it 4 In an interview with Patricia Marx Sexton referred to the brainwashing pablum of advertisements every minute 12 that she parodies with the refrain in Her Kind 4 Performance edit Her Kind was always the first poem read by Sexton at public readings and Sexton admitted that she derived an orgasmic pleasure from her performance 4 3 Sexton once referred to her performance personality as a little bit of a ham and gave her readings only in theatrical outfits She always had her nails polished and painted a standard she had maintained since her modeling career 3 It has been noted that Anne s own performance of femininity was inspired by her distant mother Mary Gray Harvey In her life Harvey was celebrated for her unusually composed feminine demeanor and grand intellectual presence only the latter she passed on to Anne 9 Criticism editSexton sought to distance herself from what she described as over literary over intellectualized early post war poetry 8 9 13 The most common complaint against Sexton s work however and especially so in To Bedlam and Part Way Back is a perceived over indulgence of the self a hallmark of confessional poetry 4 8 14 15 John Holmes refuted her work on a fundamental level stating that her motives are wrong artistically 9 Likewise James Dickey found himself unable to appreciate Sexton s confessional style because it was too transparently autobiographical 14 By contrast other critics such as Robert Phillips and Laurence Lerner contend that the often exposed biographical content of confessional poetry displays bravery on the author s behalf 14 Even though Sexton s confessional poetry is not solely rooted in fact 12 critics like Patricia Meyer Spacks asked How can the reader properly respond to lines as grotesquely uncontrolled as these References edit Poets Academy of American Her Kind by Anne Sexton Poems Academy of American Poets poets org Retrieved 2019 09 15 Clifford Clare Emily 2005 Suicides have a special language Practicing literary suicide in Cold War American poetry ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 1 96 a b c Alkalay Gut Karen Fall 2005 The Dream Life of Ms Dog Anne Sexton s Revolutionary Use of Pop Culture College Literature 32 4 61 doi 10 1353 lit 2005 0050 JSTOR 25115307 S2CID 170457243 a b c d e f g h i j k Pollard Claire October 2006 Her kind Anne Sexton the Cold War and the idea of the housewife Critical Quarterly 48 3 1 24 doi 10 1111 j 1467 8705 2006 00715 x Purkiss Diane 2003 The Witch in History Early Modern and Twentieth Century Representations Routledge pp 1 4 ISBN 9780415087612 a b Yeo Eileen Janes 2005 Constructing and Contesting Motherhood 1750 1950 Hectate 31 2 4 20 Gerald Gregory Fitz and Anne Sexton 1978 The Choir from the Soul A Conversation with Anne Sexton The Massachusetts Review 19 1 69 88 JSTOR 25088826 a b c d Zhang Xiaohong 2017 The Personal is Political A Comparative Study of Contemporary Chinese and American Confessional Poetry Comparative Literature Studies 54 1 31 51 doi 10 5325 complitstudies 54 1 0031 S2CID 152000593 a b c d e Middlebrook Diane Wood 1983 Housewife into Poet The Apprenticeship of Anne Sexton The New England Quarterly 56 4 483 503 doi 10 2307 365101 JSTOR 365101 Wrenn Andrew 2004 Making learning drive assessment Joan of Arc saint witch or warrior Teaching History 115 44 51 JSTOR 43259108 Crosbie Lynn 1996 Contextualizing Anne Sexton Confessional process and feminist practice in The Complete Poems ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 1 291 a b Marx Patricia and Anne Sexton 1965 Interview with Anne Sexton The Hudson Review 18 4 560 570 doi 10 2307 3849705 JSTOR 3849705 Gill Jo June 2004 Textual Confessions Narcissism in Anne Sexton s Early Poetry Twentieth Century Literature 50 1 59 87 doi 10 2307 4149253 JSTOR 4149253 a b c Gill Jo 2004 Anne Sexton and confessional poetics Review of English Studies 55 220 425 445 doi 10 1093 res 55 220 425 JSTOR 3661307 Ostriker Alicia 1 July 1982 That Story Anne Sexton and Her Transformations The American Poetry Review 11 4 11 16 JSTOR 27776967 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Her Kind poem amp oldid 1152406239, wikipedia, 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