Anne Sexton Her Kind

In Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind,” the speaker talks about her life as a witch which comes to an end toward the end of the poem. In the first stanza, the speaker describes what actions and characteristics make her a witch. She mentions that she goes out at night more bravely than during the day. Furthermore, she states that she dreams of evil, another action we expect typically from a witch, and that she has twelve fingers which confirms her witch status. In the second stanza she describes her lifestyle in the woods where she lives and cooks dinner for “the worms and the elves.” She also notes how she is misunderstood which I assume must be why she is outcaste from her society. The third stanza leads to her death. She waves goodbye to villages, and she notes the flames which burn her and the wheels which break her.

Although the poem superficially is about a witch’s demise, the poem truly is about the life of a woman who dared to be different from others. The speaker’s status as a witch represents society’s negative view toward her different way of life. Sexton alludes to this notion when she states in her first stanza, “A woman like that is not a woman, quite. I have been her kind.” The speaker is not the woman society expects. She lives life alone as an outcaste which ultimately leads to her insanity. The second stanza set in the woods, meant to allude to her solitude, exemplifies her insanity; she makes new friends, the worms and the elves, for who she can cook dinner since no real member of society will accept her. She also notes that she is misunderstood; although she is different, she is not truly evil or possessed. In the last stanza she indirectly directs the blame of cruelty on society as whole, not her fellow town members. After all, she still waves goodbye as she passes the villages.

The first formal feature which supports the notion of the speaker as an outcaste in society is the rhyme scheme in the poem. The first and third stanzas present a rhyme scheme of ABABCBD, yet the middle stanza presents a rhyme scheme of ABABCAD. The change in rhyme occurs as the speaker notes that she has been misunderstood. Just as the rhythm is different in this stanza, the speaker is different and misunderstood in society.

Although the poem alludes to the speaker’s inevitable insanity, the structured repetition exemplifies her belief that she is misunderstood and still sane to some extent. The speaker begins the first line of each stanza with “I have…,” the second to last line with “A woman like that is…,” and always ends each stanza with the phrase, “I have been her kind.” This repeated structure gives the poem cohesiveness. By repeating the lines within the poem, she shows that she still has coherent thoughts. She has not completely gone insane thought society may think she has reached this point.

The last formal structure which I would like to talk about is the language within the stanzas and how each break in the poem marks a change in her thoughts about herself within society. The first stanza explains how she is initially upset by the label which she is given. Society believes she is a “witch,” or an outcaste, and she is afraid to face such harmful assumptions. She is “braver at night,” and she is a “lonely thing.” She longs to be a part of the daytime crowd, yet she is not strong enough emotionally. As the poem moves to the second stanza, she argues on her behalf that that society misunderstands her. Although she goes on to make her own life “in the woods,” she still feels the need to explain herself. The third stanza marks the moment in her life which she merely accepts that things will not change. She embraces the good things around her such as the “bright roads” and the “villages,” and she is no longer ashamed; she is “not ashamed to die.” She finally understands that she is just different, not inferior like society might believe.