Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "The Black Art" is a deeply introspective and self-reflective poem that examines the complex and often troubling nature of being a writer, particularly focusing on the inherent tensions, contradictions, and emotional burdens that accompany the craft. Through a series of vivid and sometimes startling images, Sexton explores the existential conflicts faced by writers, both male and female, and delves into the paradoxical love and self-loathing that characterizes the artistic life.

The poem opens with a declaration that "A woman who writes feels too much," immediately establishing the central theme of emotional excess. Sexton suggests that a female writer is burdened by an overwhelming sensitivity, experiencing "trances and portents" that intensify her perception of the world. This heightened awareness is portrayed almost as a curse, something that complicates the already demanding roles of womanhood—"cycles and children and islands"—as if these traditional duties were not challenging enough on their own. The phrase "warn the stars" encapsulates the futility and grandiosity often associated with the writer's mission—an attempt to influence or communicate with the universe, a task that is both noble and doomed.

Sexton then contrasts this with the experience of "A man who writes," stating that he "knows too much," suggesting that while a woman writer is overwhelmed by feeling, a male writer is burdened by an excess of knowledge. This knowledge, however, is tinged with a sense of dark magic—"spells and fetiches"—implying that the male writer’s understanding of the world is also rooted in something arcane and potentially sinister. Sexton highlights the mundane and material concerns that traditionally occupy men—"erections and congresses and products"—yet suggests that even these are not sufficient to satisfy the deeper urges that drive a man to write. The image of "used furniture he makes a tree" is both ironic and poignant, symbolizing the creative process as one of repurposing the old and worn-out into something new and alive, though the creation itself remains somewhat artificial and cobbled together.

The poem's tone becomes more intimate as Sexton directly addresses her "dear love," confessing that she is "that girl" who feels too much, while her counterpart is "that man" who knows too much. This personal revelation deepens the poem’s exploration of the symbiotic and often painful relationship between two writers—one driven by emotion, the other by knowledge. Their connection is characterized by a mutual "never loving ourselves," a shared self-loathing that extends even to the most mundane aspects of their identities—"hating even our shoes and our hats." Yet, despite this self-hatred, they love each other intensely, their relationship marked by a tenderness that is at odds with the harshness of their self-perception: "Our hands are light blue and gentle. / Our eyes are full of terrible confessions."

This love, however, is fraught with difficulty. The poem’s most haunting image emerges when Sexton writes, "But when we marry, / the children leave in disgust." Here, marriage—a symbol of union and commitment—ironically leads to rejection and abandonment, suggesting that the intensity of the writers' relationship, or perhaps their inability to reconcile their inner turmoil, alienates those around them. The "children" could be seen as literal offspring or as metaphors for their creative outputs—poems, stories, ideas—that cannot bear the weight of their creators' emotional baggage and therefore "leave in disgust."

The poem closes with an image of "too much food and no one left over / to eat up all the weird abundance." This final metaphor encapsulates the central paradox of the writer's life: an overabundance of creativity, emotion, and thought, but a simultaneous emptiness or lack of fulfillment. The "weird abundance" reflects the strange, often incomprehensible nature of the writer’s inner world, brimming with ideas and emotions that cannot be fully consumed or appreciated, leaving a sense of waste and futility.

"The Black Art" is a meditation on the contradictory nature of the writer’s life—marked by both a deep connection to the world and a profound alienation from it. Sexton portrays writing as an act fraught with emotional and intellectual peril, where the very qualities that drive one to create also serve to isolate and torment. Through her exploration of gender, creativity, and the often painful intimacy between two writers, Sexton reveals the complex and conflicted inner lives of those who choose to "warn the stars" and "make a tree" from used furniture, only to find themselves both overwhelmed and unsatisfied by the strange abundance of their own making.

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