Anne Sexton: Poetry as Therapy Essay -- Anne Sexton Poet Poem Poetry E

Anne Sexton: Poetry as Therapy Many great literary and artistic geniuses have been troubled with deep depression and mental illness. Anne Sexton is an example of a poet with such problems who used her personal despair to inspire her poetic works. Not all of Sexton's work is based solely on her mental health; but a good portion of her work is influenced by her constant bouts with depression. As she struggled to deal with her own marital infidelity and the problems associated with being a female poet in a male dominated genre, she combined the theme of depression with one based on the roles of women in society. In turn, she gained a wider audience and received recognition for her work. But all the fame and fortune were not enough to compete with her lack of mental stability. Anne Sexton was born Anne Gray Harvey on November 9, 1928 in Newton, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of three daughters to Ralph and Mary Gray Staples Harvey. Life in the Harvey household was difficult for Anne. Her parents, especially her father, were very concerned with appearances and she failed them in these standards most of the time. As the Harvey children grew older, the household became much more tense. Anne's father was an alcoholic and her mother drank nearly as much as he did. Her mother's failed aspirations to become a famous writer increased the tension among the family members as Anne's mother began to resent her husband and children (Middlebrook 4-16). The ingredients for future depression were already in the works for Anne. There was a history of mental illness in the family with both Anne's great aunt and grandfather. As Anne grew older, she was pretty and popular with the boys. However, her performance in school was lacking in m... ...tudied today but the inspiration for her poetry, her constant depression, forced Sexton to take her own life. In her work, she expressed the inner torture she endured and explored the depths of her mind and society. Works Cited Kumin, Maxine. Foreword. The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. xix. Middlebrook, Diane Wood. Anne Sexton: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Parini, Jay. Editor. The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. New York: Columba University Press, 1995. Sexton, Anne. "Her Kind." Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2002. 770. Wagner-Martin, Linda. "Sexton, Anne Gray Harvey." 13 November 2001. <http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-01490-print.html> Anne Sexton Reads Her Poetry. Audiocassette. Caedmon, 1999.