Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s "Elizabeth Gone" is a poignant and haunting elegy that captures the intense grief and struggle with loss following the death of a loved one named Elizabeth. The poem is divided into two parts, each dealing with different aspects of mourning and the painful realization that the person has truly departed. Through vivid, tactile imagery and a tone that oscillates between disbelief and acceptance, Sexton delves into the emotional turmoil of confronting death, the physical remnants of the deceased, and the process of letting go.

The first section of the poem begins with the stark reality of Elizabeth’s death: "You lay in the nest of your real death." The use of the word "nest" juxtaposes the idea of comfort and home with the finality of death, suggesting a place where Elizabeth now rests permanently, beyond the reach of the living. The speaker’s "nervous fingers" emphasize the anxiety and helplessness felt in the face of death, as she reaches out to touch Elizabeth’s "moving head," only to find that the person she once knew is slipping away. The description of Elizabeth’s "old skin puckering" and her "lungs' breath / Grown baby short" highlights the physical decline that precedes death, evoking a sense of vulnerability and fragility.

As Elizabeth looks up for the last time, the speaker imagines her silently pleading, "Let me go let me go." This refrain echoes the central theme of the poem—the tension between the desire to hold on and the need to release the deceased from the bonds of life. The repetition of "Let me go" is both a cry of surrender and a request for peace, as Elizabeth's spirit seeks to move on from the suffering of her final moments.

The speaker then confronts the body in death, lying "in the crate of your last death," and recognizes that this lifeless form is no longer truly Elizabeth: "But were not you, not finally you." This line encapsulates the disconnect between the physical remains and the essence of the person who once inhabited that body. The speaker’s observation that "They have stuffed her cheeks" and refers to "this clay hand, this mask of Elizabeth" underscores the artificiality of the body after death, transformed by mortuary practices into something almost unrecognizable. The body becomes a "mask," a mere shell, devoid of the life and personality that once defined Elizabeth. The repeated plea, "Let me go let me go," reinforces the idea that the true essence of Elizabeth is no longer present in the physical form.

In the second part of the poem, the speaker grapples with the final remnants of Elizabeth—her ashes, described as "bony shells, / Rattling like gourds in the cardboard urn." The comparison of the ashes to "stones that their oven had blest" evokes a sense of both sanctity and emptiness, as if these remains are sacred yet hollow, holding little of the person they once were. The speaker’s continued attachment to the urn, "crooned to my breast," reflects the deep yearning to keep Elizabeth close, to maintain a connection to the past.

However, the voice continues to plead, "Let me go let me go," urging the speaker to release the physical remnants and accept the finality of death. In a moment of anguished release, the speaker "threw out your last bony shells," symbolizing the act of letting go of the physical remains and confronting the void left behind. This act is accompanied by a visceral, emotional reaction: "I heard me scream for the look of you," a cry of pain and longing for the familiar presence of Elizabeth—the "apple face," the "simple creche / Of your arms," and the sensory memories of "the August smells / Of your skin."

The poem concludes with the speaker sorting through Elizabeth’s belongings, the tangible "clothes / And the loves you had left," a process that underscores the finality of loss. The repetition of Elizabeth’s name in the closing lines—"Elizabeth, / Elizabeth"—is a poignant reminder of the person who has been lost, as if by saying the name, the speaker can hold onto a piece of her. Yet, the finality of "until you were gone" marks the painful acceptance that Elizabeth, in every sense, has departed.

"Elizabeth Gone" is a deeply moving exploration of grief and the difficult process of coming to terms with death. Through her use of vivid, sensory imagery and a refrain that echoes the emotional core of the poem, Sexton captures the complex emotions of loss, the struggle to release the deceased, and the inevitable acceptance that must follow. The poem stands as a powerful testament to the enduring impact of loss and the ways in which we attempt to hold on to those we love, even as we are forced to let them go.

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