The Oxford Companion to English Literature | Sexton, Anne
Sexton, Anne
(
1928
–
1974
), American poet, born into a privileged Massachusetts family. Following an early elopement, children, and a breakdown, she started to write poetry as therapy. She attended
Robert
Lowell
's classes with
Sylvia
Plath
, with whom she shares the use of a dramatic, apparently
confessional
, ‘I’, and the thematic territory of family life, jealous passion, and mental illness. Her early work makes dynamic use of strict poetic form, but, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Live or Die (
1966
), this is replaced by free verse which relies on dense, sometimes surreal, metaphors, wit, and rhythmic lists for impact. Her later work is increasingly haunted by a troubled relationship with God. Despite much success, especially with her adaptation of
Grimm
, Transformations (
1971
), Sexton took her own life, an event which has overshadowed her considerable gift, range, and influence,...
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