Short Overview
‘Her Kind’ by Anne Sexton is a three-stanza poem that is separated into sets of seven lines. These lines follow a rhyme scheme of ABABCBC. The poem explains the definition of wild life of women. The author defines women as a witch. By the end of the poem, she declares that she is not ashamed to die, to be burnt at the stake by others who don’t understand her. She is proud of who she is and she’s not going to lose that for anyone. This poem radiating the passion of the imagism movement reflects the theme of freedom in an innovative manner.
The remarks about the witch, cave-dweller, and rustic woman present an air of freedom. They had internal freedom. Society can’t touch it with her normative hands. Another theme of the poem is the celebration of womanhood. In the poetic lines, the author glorifies womanhood. Her passion for the living style of a witch and a rustic woman is paramount. After mentioning their lifestyles, she says, “I have been her kind.”. In this poem, the poet covers the individual ways of living of different women. She adores the way a witch lives. Not only that, she also likes to be a village woman and wants to feel the rhythm of her naive lifestyle. There is a struggle as well as a passion for life in them.
Literary Devices
1. Metaphor, is seen throughout this poem as the poet defines her life as a woman by describing life as a witch.
2. Alliteration, “black” and “braver” in line two of the first stanza as well as “warm” and “woods” in line one of the second stanza.
3. Enjambment is also present throughout ‘Her Kind’. For example, the transition between lines three and four of the first stanza.
Stanza by Stanza Analysis
I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.
In the first stanza, the author likens a woman to a possessed witch. The witch is more active in the night air (on dark nights). If we look at the characteristics of the night, this means that women are more active in a quiet and dark atmosphere. It could be that this illustrates that women are more daring in their souls (on something that is rags like at night). In fact, the author uses the word evil to exaggerate the atmosphere. She also likens the atmosphere that exists as a place above a plain house full of light. That is, the courage of women in their souls is placed higher than their own homes.
In the last two lines, the writer says that the woman feels lonely. Her thoughts flew all over the place. The woman is not like a woman (because she has a pretty wild mind / out of mind). And the 'I' character in this poem is one of those women.
I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.
In the second stanza, the author explains that the woman has found a warm cave in the woods. She brought the cave to life by filling it with items such as skillsets, carvings, shelves, closets, silks, innumerable goods. It means, women have the ability to liven up the cave atmosphere to be livelier and warmer. If we look deeper, it seems that women are depicted as having great power to give life to those around them. In this poem, she gives warmth to the cave itself.
On the fourth, she even prepared suppers (basic needs) for worms and elves. She can even rearrange things that seem out of tune (rearranging the disaligned). It means, women also have the power to tidy up things that are not in harmony according to her. This woman that she “has been” is busy taking care of others. These include what she enjoys and how she lives. However, she remains difficult to be understood. Even many people are still wrong in thinking about her (misunderstood). And the 'I' character in this poem is one of those women.
I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind
The final stanza of ‘her Kind’ starts with “I” once more. Here, she describes how she’s ridden “in your cart” and “waved [her] nude arms at the villages going by”. This might bring to mind the image of a woman being accused of witchcraft and taken into town. This becomes more obvious as the stanza continues and she describes being bitten by flames.
The poem concludes with the speaker saying that a “woman” like that she has “been” is not “ashamed to die”. She has a certain strength that only comes with being misunderstood and separate from the world. It doesn’t matter, this speaker implies, what they do to her. She is never going to lose who she is.