Explication of “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton
The poem “Her Kind” dramatizes the conflict between women and the roles that are placed upon them, especially in the time it was written in . This poem was written in 1960, during the Cold War. In this time period women occupied the role of being a housewife for their families. The speaker of the poem presents three different women’s experiences within each stanza of the poem. Each stanza ends with “I have been her kind” (Lines 7, 14, and 21). Ending each stanza with this phrase tells the reader that the speaker relates with many other women’s stories and experiences, illustrating a universal connection. These examples of women who are described as witches and cave dwellers illustrate that women feel
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The speaker sees this witch and herself as a wicked figure “dreaming evil” (3). This evil character is separated from society, but enjoys the loneliness that she lives in. By living apart from others she has learned valuable information that others do not know of. However, although she learns from her distance from people, she is still a, “lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind” (5). Describing herself as “twelve-fingered” Throughout this stanza the speaker uses a mysterious tone that fits the image of a magical witch in the night (5). At the end of this stanza the poet presents that she has been in this type of outcast experience before by stating, “I have been her kind” …show more content…
She has been accused of doing something, causing her to be punished and captured. In the first stanza the speaker refers to herself as a “possessed witch” (1), now, in this third stanza she describes, “where your flames still bite my thigh” (18). This woman who they deem as a witch is being burned as a consequence for something she did. At the end of the stanza the speaker states, “A woman like that is not ashamed to die. / I have been her kind” (20-21). This misunderstood, distanced woman is not afraid to die as she has nothing to be ashamed