All My Pretty Ones (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Anne Gray Harvey
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Family or family life, Mothers, Parents and children, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Fathers, Death or dying, Inheritance or succession, Life and death, Shakespeare, William, or Shakespearean plays
“All My Pretty Ones,” the title poem of Sexton's second collection, expresses the grief and loss characterizing the entire volume. In this poem, Sexton uses formal, rhymed verse to reflect upon the shock and sorrow of losing both her parents within a few months. The title recalls the grief of William Shakespeare's character Macduff, when he is told that Macbeth has had his wife and children killed. Sexton quotes the relevant passage as an epigraph to the poem.
Sexton's poetry closely reflects her life and appears to represent her own voice. “All My Pretty Ones” follows...
[The entire page is 573 words long]
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