Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "Talking to Sheep" presents a raw and unsettling examination of the burdens of confession and the weight of self-awareness. The poem is steeped in a sense of alienation and compulsion, revealing the speaker's internal struggle with the constant need to expose her inner life and the shame that accompanies such revelations.

The poem opens with the speaker's life laid bare, "unclothed in court," subjected to scrutiny "detail by detail, / death-bone witness by death-bone witness." This stark imagery suggests a trial, not only in a literal sense but also in the metaphorical sense of being judged by society, or perhaps by one's own conscience. The "cut penny" and "entrails of a cat" awarded to the speaker as a verdict symbolize the paltry and grotesque outcomes of this exposure—rewards that are as meaningless as they are disturbing.

Despite this, the speaker continues to confess, driven by an almost compulsive need to reveal herself. The confessions are made "through the wire of hell," a phrase that conjures the image of a confessional booth turned into a torturous space. The priests, rather than offering absolution, "wet upon" the speaker, further humiliating her. This act of confession is then extended to the "winos" and "derelicts" of the region, whom she "accosts" in a desperate attempt to unload her burdens onto them, only to be met with their echoed cries of "Me too, Me too." This refrain suggests a shared experience of suffering, but it also reflects the futility of confession as a means of finding solace.

As the poem progresses, the speaker reflects on the statues she carves of her actions, admitting that even if these acts are not hers, they are close enough to "wear my nose." This line captures the eerie proximity of her life to the lives of others, blurring the boundaries between self and other. The notion of the "patrician nose" sniffing at her or following others down the street hints at an inescapable sense of judgment, both from within and without.

The speaker draws on historical references, noting that centuries ago, such confessions would have been seen as signs of madness, to be treated by "a bath full of leeches" drawing out the devil. This comparison underscores the futility and pain of the speaker's compulsions, suggesting that her confessions are not just acts of self-revelation but also acts of self-destruction.

The poem takes a turn as the speaker contemplates silence, entering "another room" where she is not only blind but speechless. This silence is described as a kind of death, though "the respiration be okay," implying that while the body continues to live, the spirit or voice is stifled. The speaker then grapples with the idea of becoming simple-minded, of learning to "speak the Baa / of the simple-minded," while her mind is filled with "multi-colored, / crowded voices, cries for help." This dissonance between the external appearance of simplicity and the internal cacophony of voices highlights the speaker's profound sense of disconnection from the world around her.

The voices that haunt the speaker are fragmented and disturbing, each tied to a different aspect of her identity and relationships: the transvestite whispering about disappearing legs, the mother comparing herself to fish, the father with a "marble of blood" rolling into his heart, and the great aunt who is both a flame and a fat lady in a freak circus. These voices suggest a fractured sense of self, with each fragment representing a different aspect of the speaker's psyche or family history.

In the closing lines, the speaker acknowledges the need to embrace her identity as the "black sheep" she is, even as she plays dead to the world. The repetition of "Baa" in the final lines serves as a resignation to this identity, a bleak acceptance of her place on the margins of society and within her own mind.

"Talking to Sheep" is a deeply introspective poem that grapples with themes of confession, identity, and alienation. Sexton's use of vivid and unsettling imagery, coupled with the poem's haunting tone, creates a powerful meditation on the struggle to reconcile the inner self with the external world. Through the speaker's journey, Sexton explores the painful complexities of self-awareness and the desperate search for meaning in a world that often feels cold and indifferent.

Copyright (c) 2024 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...