Breaking Out Of The Body:Anne Sexton’s Writing Of The Female Body

As one of the most influential and prominent poets in the USA, Anne Sexton has, before her mournful and mysterious death, created tremendously impressive poems to present the interior and exterior feelings of a female poet in her time. Throughout her poems, it would be noticeable to see abundant depictions of the female body as well as feminine issues. Because of the illustration of the female body and corporal experience in her poems, Sexton has received criticism as well as praises. However, the presentation of the female body has reflected not only her personal feelings and thoughts but also other women’s condition in her time. This thesis sets out to analyze the underlying purpose and significance of Sexton’s focalization on the female body in her poems. By the recognition of the female body, Sexton has noticed the significance of women’s writing for combating men’s authority and acquired women’s rights in the society.This thesis consists of five chapters, including an introduction, three main parts to analyze Sexton’s bodily narration and a conclusion. The introduction part goes into a brief account of Anne Sexton and her poems in Anne Sexton:the Complete Poems, and the literature review of her poems at home and abroad. According to that, the research task and subject of this thesis will be presented. The main part of the thesis would offer a deep analysis of the bodily poems of Sexton. In Chapter 2, it will discuss Sexton’s highlighting of women’s writing through the illustration of the female body. This chapter will illustrate Sexton’s recognition of the female body, her ideographical images of the female body, and her understanding women’s writing based on the female body. Chapter 3 will present Sexton’s practice of women’s writing to combat against patriarchal authority through her poetry. The rebellion is made by challenging religious beliefs and the paradigms of fairy tales. Chapter 4 will explain Sexton’s establishment of women’s authority through corporal narration. Women’s experience has been articulated through their body and the removing of "otherness" would be conducive to the building of women’s subjectivity and authority. Chapter 5 is a general conclusion of the whole thesis.Sexton’s poems have aroused readers’interest in understanding the exploration of women’s experience and feelings. Through her depiction of the female body, a reflection on the condition of female in the patriarchal society is offered. Sexton’s writing on the female body has made revolt against the patriarchal authority.