Anne Sexton: Poetry as Therapy Essay

In addition, Anne says she was, “Nervous and irritable.” and that her mother made it no better. Also, Anne states that her mother

Anne's was a life filled with significant events. The trial and home confinement of her father was the most significant of her childhood. The education she received from her father at this time would prepare her well for her own trial. She had a deep confidence in

Throughout her time of hiding, Anne had a diary where she could express her thoughts and feelings about the situation. She wrote down what was happening, how she feels about what's happening, and her opinions on the people she is living with. Her opinion of her mother changed as they were there. For what I can tell before hiding, Anne loved and cared for her mother as much as anyone else in her family. As time went on, her mother was unbearable to Anne. Anne wrote, "Mother is unbearable. She insists on treating me like a baby." Anne says this because she believes that she is able to

Anne matures throughout the course of her diary entries, moving from detailed accounts of basic activities to deeper, more profound thoughts about humanity and her own personal nature. “I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself and then I am satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inward strength and plenty of courage.” This shows that Anne matures through the course of her diary, she considers herself as a woman rather than a young girl and sets goals for herself that she wants to achieve. Anne becomes more optimistic even after she feels misunderstood by everyone and feels completely alone.

In the beginning, Anne was a very outgoing, happy girl. She was very immature and tried looking

Anne Sexton was a poet and a woman, but most importantly, she was an outcast. Subjected to nervous breakdowns and admitted to a neuropsychiatry hospital, Sexton must have been all too familiar with the staring eyes and the judging minds of the public. Just being a woman in today's world often can be enough to degrade a person in the public's eye, let alone being labeled as a crazy woman. But Anne Sexton did not let society remain unchallenged in its views. She voiced a different opinion of women through poetry. In Anne Sexton's "Her Kind" the speaker of the poem embraces society's negative stereotype of modern, liberated women and transforms it into a positive image. Two voices, the voice of

In the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne is a dynamic character who is disrespectful and immature in the beginning of the play. When Anna had a nightmare in the beginning of the play, her mother came into her room to comfort her. Her mother offered Anne water and to stay with her until she fell asleep, but Anne said it wasn’t necessary to stay. When Mrs. Frank stated, “But I’d like to start with you . . . Very much. Really.” Anne replied, “I’d rather you didn’t” (398). This scene demonstrates Anne is both immature and rude because she rejects her mother’s help. Her mother is likely very hurt by this rejection, especially since, as her mother leaves the room, Anne asks for her father instead. In the end of the play, Anne shows she is a dynamic character by displaying the character traits brave and thoughtful. While Peter and Anne

Anne never minced words when it came to the events that took place in her life; a lot

…Anne had reason to believe that she had moments only of languor and depression, to hours of occupation and enjoyment. How could it be?—She watched—observed—reflected—and

Anne thinks that she is not included in family news, and thinks that she is left out of Jenny’s life.

Her father died in a plane crash and she felt responsible for it. Anne Juergens and George Juergens got divorced, after fifteen years of marriage, because of their marital affairs.

As a child Anne became very fond with drama, acting, and was not shy to speak in front of big groups of people. Anne was quickly nicknamed Nancy when her father left the marriage. Later on Nancy got a good education at a school that exposed her to wealth and privilege. She studied drama at Smith college and got a bachelor's of arts degree.

Every author, poet, playwright has a subtle message that they would like present to their audience. It may be a lifelong struggle that they have put into words, or a multiple page book that took a lifetime to write. A poet by the name of Anne Sexton sought out to challenge society’s views of women by writing “Her Kind”. A poet, a playwright, and an author of children’s books, Anne Sexton writes about the conflicts of a social outcast living in modern times. She voices the hardships she faces through three different speakers in her poem. At the end of the poem, the woman is not ashamed nor afraid of whom she is and is ready to die in peace. In Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind”, the main idea the speaker is depicting is the multiple stereotypes placed on a woman, by society. Sexton’s vivid use of imagery paints a picture of the witch, house wife, and mother cliché, while also implying the poem is autobiographical as Sexton went through her own personal struggles during her life.

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974) both explored similar themes such as tone, structure, and symbolism. Many of their poems were cries for help, which resulted into metal illness, depression, and suicide. In 1958, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath met, and much to their surprise had a few things in common. They both were fascinated with death and suicide. Both Sexton’s and Plath’s poetry are considered as confessional poetry in which they were very honest, depressed, and had suicidal or homicidal tendencies. Sylvia and Anne’s views on what happened in their life and on independence, are what nearly separates them from other confessional poets. Sexton and Plath’s poetry range over a variety of topics such as death, suicide, rage, and mourning. They both utilize a convincing use of symbolism, deep image, metaphors, and soul-searching. Plath’s “The Colossus”, “Full Fathom Five”, “Daddy”, and Sexton’s “And one for My Dame” and “All My Pretty Ones”, are very enraged and different feminist perspectives, giving different views on the relationships with a father and a husband.

Anne’s death and his imprisonment are said to have changed him. When he was released “[t]he fashionable courtier and the writer of ballads was superseded by the hard-working diplomat, by the