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The Truth The Dead Know By Anne Sexton

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Recommended: Loss and loneliness themes

Anne Sexton's poetic verse "The Truth the Dead Know" examines the issue of loss and the process of allowing it. The speaker initially attempts to persuade herself that loss is not a tragedy and that it can be mastered like an art form. However, as the poem proceeds, the speaker acknowledges that losing someone or something meaningful is difficult and devastating. Throughout the poem, the speaker grapples with the reality of loss and the emotional toll it exacts. The speaker finds consolation in her lover's arms in the second verse, implying that intimacy might assist to lessen the grief of loss. The final verse, however, indicates the speaker's acceptance of death's permanency and the reluctance of the deceased to be "blessed," implying that, …show more content…

This topic is something that I have struggled with throughout my life. Losing someone in your life, no matter how close or how distant you feel, is a traumatic experience that can have a lasting impact on anyone’s life. The most recent event like this in my life was the passing of my great – grandmother. She was the rock of the family, and the glue that held a very divisive and rocky family together. During her working years, it was not uncommon for her to be working at least three jobs to provide for her family and everyone that she loved. Her passing was a serious blow to the family, and sadly, we had to figure out how to get everyone on the same page to give her the funeral she deserved. Everything went smoothly until the moment after the burial. My grandfather, her oldest child, got up and left. Nobody noticed him leave, but we didn’t see him again until several hours later. Reading in Sexton’s poem lines 2-3 “refusing the stiff procession to the grave, / letting the dead ride alone in the hearse,” reminded me of this moment in my life. Sexton’s refusal to see things to the end might be what my grandfather

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