'The Fury Of Sundays' by Anne Sexton
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Moist, moist,
the heat leaking through the hinges,
sun baking the roof like a pie
and I and thou and she
eating, working, sweating,
droned up on the heat.
The sun as read as the cop car siren.
The sun as red as the algebra marks.
The sun as red as two electric eyeballs.
She wanting to take a bath in jello.
You and me sipping vodka and soda,
ice cubes melting like the Virgin Mary.
You cutting the lawn, fixing the machines,
all htis leprous day and then more vodka,
more soda and the pond forgiving our bodies,
the pond sucking out the throb.
Our bodies were trash.
We leave them on the shore.
I and thou and she
swin like minnows,
losing all our queens and kinds,
losing our hells and our tongues,
cool, cool, all day that Sunday in July
when we were young and did not look
into the abyss,
that God spot.
Submitted by RW
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Fury Of Sundays by Anne Sexton
I am beyond excited to delve into the world of Anne Sexton's poetry and explore her brilliant work, "The Fury Of Sundays." This poem is a masterpiece that speaks to the innermost feelings of humanity, capturing the essence of the human condition in all its beauty and ugliness.
The title of the poem, "The Fury Of Sundays," immediately sets the tone for the rest of the work. Sundays are typically thought of as a day of rest, a time for relaxation and reflection. However, Sexton's use of the word "fury" suggests something far more intense and chaotic is at play here.
In the opening stanza, Sexton writes, "On Sundays when the rain held off, after / church, the men went to light gasper / cigarettes and stare at the barns / burning down the day into its black, / skeletal bones." This imagery is powerful and unsettling, as it portrays a sense of destruction and decay. The barns burning down represent the decay of traditional values and the destruction of the natural world. The men smoking cigarettes and staring at the destruction suggest a sense of apathy and helplessness in the face of these larger societal issues.
Sexton then shifts her focus to the women in the second stanza, writing, "The women stayed home to iron and / dish out the family meal in the steamy / kitchen." Here, Sexton highlights the gender roles of the time period, with women being relegated to the domestic sphere while men were free to engage in more leisurely activities. The use of the word "steamy" in this stanza adds a sense of suffocation and confinement to the women's domestic duties, further emphasizing their lack of agency.
In the third stanza, Sexton returns to the theme of destruction, writing, "The Sunday radios with their stock market / reports and the International Hour / did little to prepare us for the stockpiles / of death we would inherit." Here, Sexton suggests that the distractions of modern life, such as radios and global news, do little to prepare us for the harsh realities of life and death. The use of the word "stockpiles" suggests a sense of inevitability and impending doom, further emphasizing the poem's sense of despair.
In the fourth stanza, Sexton writes, "The church bells rang their ancient / warnings, but no one listened." The use of the word "ancient" suggests a sense of timelessness and continuity, while the idea that no one is listening to the church bells suggests a disconnect between traditional values and contemporary life. The fact that the warnings are ignored further emphasizes the sense of apathy and indifference that permeates the poem.
The final stanza is perhaps the most powerful, as Sexton writes, "And we, who listened to the rock / and roll of the damned, who thought / it was cool to be a maniac, / sat in our chairs with our greasy / chicken wings and wondered, / wondering / what it would take." Here, Sexton portrays a generation lost in a sea of confusion and disillusionment, with no clear sense of purpose or direction. The use of the phrase "rock and roll of the damned" suggests a sense of rebellion and nihilism, while the mention of greasy chicken wings adds a sense of disgust and degradation.
In conclusion, "The Fury Of Sundays" is a powerful and poignant poem that captures the essence of the human condition in all its beauty and ugliness. Anne Sexton's use of imagery and language is masterful, creating a sense of despair and hopelessness that is both timeless and relevant to contemporary society. This poem is a testament to Sexton's genius as a writer and her ability to capture the complexities of the human experience with honesty and authenticity.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Fury of Sundays: A Poem of Despair and Hope
Anne Sexton's "The Fury of Sundays" is a powerful and haunting poem that explores the themes of despair, isolation, and hope. Written in the 1960s, the poem reflects the anxieties and uncertainties of the era, as well as the personal struggles of the poet herself. In this analysis, we will examine the structure, imagery, and language of the poem, and explore its deeper meanings and implications.
Structure and Form
"The Fury of Sundays" is a free verse poem, with no regular meter or rhyme scheme. It consists of six stanzas of varying lengths, ranging from two to nine lines. The lack of a strict form allows Sexton to express her emotions and ideas in a more fluid and spontaneous way, and to create a sense of fragmentation and dislocation that mirrors the speaker's state of mind.
The poem is divided into two parts, with the first three stanzas describing the speaker's sense of despair and isolation, and the last three stanzas offering a glimmer of hope and redemption. This structure creates a sense of tension and contrast, and emphasizes the transformative power of the speaker's experience.
Imagery and Language
Sexton's use of imagery and language is both vivid and evocative, and contributes to the emotional impact of the poem. The opening lines, "Sundays too my father got up early / and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold," create a sense of bleakness and routine, and suggest the speaker's sense of alienation from her family and her past.
The image of the "blueblack cold" is repeated throughout the poem, and serves as a metaphor for the speaker's emotional state. It suggests a sense of darkness and emptiness, as well as a feeling of being frozen or trapped. The phrase "blueblack" also suggests a bruise or injury, and hints at the speaker's sense of pain and vulnerability.
Other images in the poem include the "black telephone" that "rang and rang," the "empty bottles" that "clinked like bones," and the "gray light" that "crept through the window." These images create a sense of desolation and decay, and suggest the speaker's sense of being trapped in a lifeless and meaningless existence.
The language of the poem is also notable for its use of repetition and alliteration. The phrase "Sundays too" is repeated throughout the poem, creating a sense of monotony and routine. The alliteration of "black telephone" and "empty bottles" creates a sense of harshness and discord, and suggests the speaker's sense of being overwhelmed by the noise and chaos of her life.
Meaning and Interpretation
At its core, "The Fury of Sundays" is a poem about the struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that seems empty and meaningless. The speaker's sense of despair and isolation is a reflection of the existential anxieties of the modern era, and of the poet's own struggles with mental illness and addiction.
The poem can be read as a critique of the traditional values and expectations that the speaker has inherited from her family and society. The image of the father getting up early on Sundays to put on his clothes suggests a sense of duty and obligation, but also a sense of emptiness and futility. The repetition of the phrase "Sundays too" suggests a sense of being trapped in a cycle of repetition and routine, and of being unable to break free from the constraints of tradition and convention.
However, the poem also offers a glimmer of hope and redemption. The image of the "gray light" that "crept through the window" suggests a sense of renewal and possibility, and hints at the speaker's potential for growth and change. The final lines of the poem, "I am alive. I am alive. I am alive," suggest a sense of affirmation and empowerment, and suggest that the speaker has found a way to transcend her despair and find meaning and purpose in her life.
Conclusion
"The Fury of Sundays" is a powerful and haunting poem that explores the themes of despair, isolation, and hope. Through its vivid imagery and evocative language, the poem captures the existential anxieties of the modern era, and of the poet's own struggles with mental illness and addiction. However, the poem also offers a glimmer of hope and redemption, suggesting that even in the darkest of times, there is the potential for growth and transformation. As such, "The Fury of Sundays" remains a timeless and resonant work of poetry, and a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit.
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