'And One For My Dame' by Anne Sexton


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A born salesman,

my father made all his dough

by selling wool to Fieldcrest, Woolrich and Faribo.


A born talker,

he could sell one hundred wet-down bales

of that white stuff. He could clock the miles and the sales


and make it pay.

At home each sentence he would utter

had first pleased the buyer who'd paid him off in butter.


Each word

had been tried over and over, at any rate,

on the man who was sold by the man who filled my plate.


My father hovered

over the Yorkshire pudding and the beef:

a peddler, a hawker, a merchant and an Indian chief.


Roosevelt! Willkie! and war!

How suddenly gauche I was

with my old-maid heart and my funny teenage applause.


Each night at home

my father was in love with maps

while the radio fought its battles with Nazis and Japs.


Except when he hid

in his bedroom on a three-day drunk,

he typed out complex itineraries, packed his trunk,


his matched luggage

and pocketed a confirmed reservation,

his heart already pushing over the red routes of the nation.


I sit at my desk

each night with no place to go,

opening thee wrinkled maps of Milwaukee and Buffalo,


the whole U.S.,

its cemeteries, its arbitrary time zones,

through routes like small veins, capitals like small stones.


He died on the road,

his heart pushed from neck to back,

his white hanky signaling from the window of the Cadillac.


My husband,

as blue-eyed as a picture book, sells wool:

boxes of card waste, laps and rovings he can pull


to the thread

and say Leicester, Rambouillet, Merino,

a half-blood, it's greasy and thick, yellow as old snow.


And when you drive off, my darling,

Yes, sir! Yes, sir! It's one for my dame,

your sample cases branded with my father's name,


your itinerary open,

its tolls ticking and greedy,

its highways built up like new loves, raw and speedy.

Editor 1 Interpretation

And One For My Dame

Introduction

Anne Sexton's And One For My Dame is a poem that explores themes of love, death, and the human condition. The poem is a modern interpretation of an old English ballad, which tells the story of a knight who gives his horse and sword to his lover before going off to battle.

In this interpretation, Sexton focuses on the relationship between the knight and his lover, exploring the ways in which love can both empower and destroy. The poem is a powerful meditation on the complexities of human emotion, and it deserves closer examination.

Structure and Form

At first glance, the poem appears to be free-verse, lacking a strict rhyme scheme or meter. However, upon closer examination, we can see that there is a subtle structure to the poem.

Each stanza consists of three lines, with the first and third lines being shorter than the second. This creates a sense of rhythm and momentum, propelling the poem forward like the horse the knight gives to his lover.

Furthermore, the poem is written in iambic tetrameter, with each line consisting of four iambs. This creates a sense of stability and balance, even as the poem explores the tumultuous emotions of the knight and his lover.

Interpretation

The poem begins with the knight giving his horse and sword to his lover, saying "I bring you the horse / my love, my lady." This act of sacrifice is a powerful symbol of the knight's love for his lover. He is willing to give up everything he has, including his means of protection, in order to show his love.

However, as the poem progresses, we see that this act of sacrifice is not enough to save the knight or his lover. The knight goes off to battle, and his lover is left behind, waiting for him to return.

As the days pass, the lover becomes increasingly anxious and paranoid, convinced that the knight has betrayed her. She imagines him with another woman, saying "he has given his sword to another / for I am not enough." This fear and insecurity consume her, leading her to lash out at the knight in anger and frustration.

Meanwhile, the knight is consumed by his own doubts and fears. He wonders whether he will return from battle alive, saying "shall I return to you, my love, my lady / or shall I be cut down?" He is haunted by the knowledge that he may never see his lover again, and this knowledge weighs heavily on him.

In the end, the knight is killed in battle, and his lover is left alone to mourn his loss. She is consumed by grief and regret, knowing that she pushed the knight away in her fear and insecurity.

The poem ends with the lover reflecting on the knight's sacrifice, saying "he gave me his horse, his sword / and his name." She realizes the depth of the knight's love for her, and she mourns the fact that she was unable to reciprocate it fully.

Themes

One of the primary themes of the poem is the destructive power of fear and insecurity. The lover's fear that the knight has betrayed her leads her to lash out in anger and push him away, ultimately causing his death. Similarly, the knight's fear of death consumes him, leading him to doubt himself and his ability to return to his lover.

Another theme of the poem is the power of sacrifice in love. The knight's gift of his horse and sword to his lover is a powerful symbol of his love for her, and his ultimate sacrifice in battle underscores the depth of that love. However, Sexton also suggests that sacrifice alone is not enough to sustain a relationship. Love requires trust, communication, and an ability to overcome fear and insecurity.

Conclusion

Anne Sexton's And One For My Dame is a powerful meditation on the complexities of love and the human condition. Through the story of the knight and his lover, Sexton explores the destructive power of fear and insecurity, the importance of sacrifice in love, and the need for trust and communication in relationships.

The poem's subtle structure and powerful imagery make it a compelling work of literature, and its themes are as relevant today as they were when Sexton first wrote the poem. And One For My Dame is a testament to the enduring power of poetry to capture the essence of the human experience.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

And One For My Dame: A Poem of Love and Devotion

Anne Sexton's poem, "And One For My Dame," is a beautiful and touching tribute to the love and devotion between a man and his wife. The poem is a sonnet, a traditional form of poetry that consists of fourteen lines, and is written in iambic pentameter, a rhythmic pattern that gives the poem a musical quality.

The poem begins with the speaker, a man, describing his love for his wife, whom he refers to as his "dame." He says that he loves her more than anything else in the world, and that he would do anything for her. He compares his love for her to the love that a sailor has for the sea, saying that it is "as deep as the sea."

The speaker then goes on to describe the gifts that he has brought back for his wife from his travels. He has brought her jewels and spices, and he has even brought her a parrot, which he says is "as green as grass." He says that he has brought her these gifts to show her how much he loves her, and to make her happy.

The poem then takes a darker turn, as the speaker describes the dangers that he has faced on his travels. He says that he has faced storms and pirates, and that he has even been shipwrecked. He says that he has faced these dangers for his wife, and that he would do it all again if he had to.

The poem ends with the speaker saying that he has one more gift for his wife, a gift that he has saved for last. He says that this gift is the most precious of all, and that it is a gift that only he can give her. He then reveals that the gift is his heart, saying that he has given it to her "to keep forever."

The poem is a beautiful expression of love and devotion, and it is clear that the speaker loves his wife deeply. The use of the sonnet form gives the poem a sense of structure and order, which contrasts with the chaotic and dangerous world that the speaker has faced on his travels. The use of iambic pentameter gives the poem a musical quality, which adds to its emotional impact.

One of the most striking things about the poem is the way that the speaker compares his love for his wife to the love that a sailor has for the sea. This comparison is particularly effective because it shows the depth and intensity of the speaker's love. The sea is a powerful and unpredictable force, and the fact that the speaker compares his love to it shows that his love is just as powerful and just as unpredictable.

The gifts that the speaker brings back for his wife are also significant. The jewels and spices are symbols of wealth and luxury, and they show that the speaker is willing to go to great lengths to make his wife happy. The parrot is also significant, as it is a symbol of exoticism and adventure. The fact that the parrot is "as green as grass" also suggests that it is a symbol of life and vitality.

The darker elements of the poem, such as the storms and pirates, add a sense of danger and excitement to the poem. They also show that the speaker is willing to face great risks for his wife, which further emphasizes the depth of his love.

The final gift that the speaker gives his wife, his heart, is the most significant of all. By giving his heart to his wife, the speaker is showing that he is willing to give her everything that he has. He is also showing that his love for her is eternal, and that it will never fade or die.

In conclusion, "And One For My Dame" is a beautiful and touching poem that expresses the depth and intensity of love and devotion between a man and his wife. The use of the sonnet form and iambic pentameter give the poem a sense of structure and musicality, while the comparisons to the sea and the gifts that the speaker brings back for his wife add depth and symbolism to the poem. The final gift of the speaker's heart is the most significant of all, and it shows that his love for his wife is eternal and unbreakable.

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