'The Break' by Anne Sexton
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It was also my violent heart that broke,
falling down the front hall stairs.
It was also a message I never spoke,
calling, riser after riser, who cares
about you, who cares, splintering up
the hip that was merely made of crystal,
the post of it and also the cup.
I exploded in the hallway like a pistol.
So I fell apart. So I came all undone.
Yes. I was like a box of dog bones.
But now they've wrapped me in like a nun.
Burst like firecrackers! Held like stones!
What a feat sailing queerly like Icarus
until the tempest undid me and I broke.
The ambulance drivers made such a fuss.
But when I cried, "Wait for my courage!" they smoked
and then they placed me, tied me up on their plate,
and wheeled me out to their coffin, my nest.
Slowly the siren slowly the hearse, sedate
as a dowager. At the E. W. they cut off my dress.
I cried, "Oh Jesus, help me! Oh Jesus Christ!"
and the nurse replied, "Wrong name. My name
is Barbara," and hung me in an odd device,
a buck's extension and a Balkan overhead frame.
The orthopedic man declared,
"You'll be down for a year." His scoop. His news.
He opened the skin. He scraped. He pared
and drilled through bone for his four-inch screws.
That takes brute strength like pushing a cow
up hill. I tell you, it takes skill
and bedside charm and all that know how.
The body is a damn hard thing to kill.
But please don't touch or jiggle my bed.
I'm Ethan Frome's wife. I'll move when I'm able.
The T. V. hangs from the wall like a moose head.
I hide a pint of bourbon in my bedside table.
A bird full of bones, now I'm held by a sand bag.
The fracture was twice. The fracture was double.
The days are horizontal. The days are a drag.
All of the skeleton in me is in trouble.
Across the hall is the bedpan station.
The urine and stools pass hourly by my head
in silver bowls. They flush in unison
in the autoclave. My one dozen roses are dead.
The have ceased to menstruate. They hang
there like little dried up blood clots.
And the heart too, that cripple, how it sang
once. How it thought it could call the shots!
Understand what happened the day I fell.
My heart had stammered and hungered at
a marriage feast until the angel of hell
turned me into the punisher, the acrobat.
My bones are loose as clothespins,
as abandoned as dolls in a toy shop
and my heart, old hunger motor, with its sins
revved up like an engine that would not stop.
And now I spend all day taking care
of my body, that baby. Its cargo is scarred.
I anoint the bedpan. I brush my hair,
waiting in the pain machine for my bones to get hard,
for the soft, soft bones that were laid apart
and were screwed together. They will knit.
And the other corpse, the fractured heart,
I feed it piecemeal, little chalice. I'm good to it.
Yet lie a fire alarm it waits to be known.
It is wired. In it many colors are stored.
While my body's in prison, heart cells alone
have multiplied. My bones are merely bored
with all this waiting around. But the heart,
this child of myself that resides in the flesh,
this ultimate signature of the me, the start
of my blindness and sleep, builds a death crèche.
The figures are placed at the grave of my bones.
All figures knowing it is the other death
they came for. Each figure standing alone.
The heart burst with love and lost its breath.
This little town, this little country is real
and thus it is so of the post and the cup
and thus of the violent heart. The zeal
of my house doth eat me up.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Break by Anne Sexton - A Masterpiece of Confessional Poetry
Anne Sexton is considered one of the most important poets of the confessional poetry movement, which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. This poetic movement was characterized by a frank and personal exploration of the poet's innermost feelings, experiences, and struggles, often involving taboo topics such as mental illness, suicide, and incest. The Break, one of Sexton's most famous poems, is a powerful example of confessional poetry that explores the theme of a mental breakdown and its aftermath.
The Poem
The Break consists of 21 stanzas, each one composed of three lines, with a total of 63 lines. The poem is structured in a way that suggests a gradual descent into madness and a subsequent attempt at recovery. The first stanza sets the tone for the rest of the poem, with a stark image of a "white hospital" and the speaker's admission that "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions." The use of the color white is significant, as it suggests purity, sterility, and a lack of color or emotion, which contrasts with the speaker's later expressions of intense emotions.
In the following stanzas, the speaker describes her experiences during the breakdown, which includes being strapped to a bed, hallucinating, and feeling trapped in her own mind. The use of sensory details such as "the rubber room" and "the bolted door" creates a vivid and claustrophobic atmosphere. The repeated refrain of "I remember" emphasizes the fragmented and disorienting nature of memory during a mental breakdown.
The middle section of the poem shifts to the aftermath of the breakdown, with the speaker attempting to regain her sense of self and connect with the world around her. The use of water imagery, such as "the river," "the waterfall," and "the pool," suggests a cleansing and purifying effect. The speaker also describes her relationship with her husband, who is a source of comfort and stability in her life. However, she also acknowledges the strain that her mental illness has put on their relationship, with the lines "I have been his kind of enemy and he has been mine."
The final section of the poem returns to the theme of memory, with the speaker reflecting on the past and the future. She expresses a desire to forget the pain of the breakdown, but also acknowledges that it has shaped her identity and her art. The final lines of the poem, "And I am the arrow, / the dew that flies / Suicidal, at one with the drive / Into the red / Eye, the cauldron of morning," suggest a sense of renewal and transformation, as the speaker embraces her own power and creativity.
Interpretation
The Break is a complex and multi-layered poem that can be interpreted in many ways. At its core, however, it is a deeply personal and honest exploration of the speaker's experience of mental illness and its impact on her life and relationships.
One possible interpretation of the poem is that it represents a journey from fragmentation to wholeness. The speaker's experience of a mental breakdown is characterized by a sense of disorientation, loss of control, and a fragmented sense of self. However, as the poem progresses, she begins to reconnect with the world around her and to regain a sense of stability and coherence. The use of water imagery in the middle section of the poem suggests a purifying and transformative effect, as the speaker is able to wash away the pain and confusion of the breakdown and emerge renewed and transformed.
Another interpretation of the poem is that it represents a struggle for connection and understanding. The speaker's experience of mental illness is characterized by a sense of isolation and disconnection from others. However, she also seeks connection and understanding, both from her husband and from the world at large. The poem can be seen as a testament to the power of language and art to create connections and to bridge the gap between individuals.
The use of memory in the poem is also significant. The repeated refrain of "I remember" emphasizes the fragmented and disorienting nature of memory during a mental breakdown, as well as the way in which memories can be both painful and transformative. The final lines of the poem suggest a sense of renewal and transformation, as the speaker embraces her own power and creativity.
Literary Criticism
The Break is considered one of Anne Sexton's most important and powerful poems, and has been the subject of much literary criticism and interpretation. One of the most common themes in these critiques is the confessional nature of the poem, and its use of personal experience as a source of artistic inspiration. Critics have noted the way in which Sexton's poetry challenges traditional notions of poetic form and content, and the way in which it blurs the line between the personal and the political.
Another important theme in the literary criticism of The Break is the use of imagery and metaphor. Critics have noted the way in which Sexton uses color, water imagery, and other sensory details to create a vivid and evocative atmosphere. They have also noted the way in which the poem uses metaphor to suggest the speaker's journey from fragmentation to wholeness, and the way in which it creates connections between different elements of the poem.
Finally, critics have noted the way in which The Break reflects the broader cultural and social context of the 1960s, with its focus on mental illness, social and political upheaval, and the challenges of personal identity and self-expression. The poem has been seen as a reflection of the changing cultural landscape of the time, and as a powerful expression of the struggles and triumphs of the human experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Break is a masterpiece of confessional poetry that explores the theme of mental illness and its impact on the individual and the world around them. The poem is characterized by a vivid and evocative use of imagery and metaphor, as well as a deep and personal exploration of the speaker's innermost thoughts and feelings. The poem is a testament to the power of language and art to create connections and to bridge the gap between individuals, and to the possibility of renewal and transformation in the face of adversity.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Break: A Poem of Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, is known for her confessional style of poetry that delves deep into the human psyche. Her poem, The Break, is a powerful and haunting piece that explores the theme of mental breakdown and the struggle to find meaning in life. In this analysis, we will examine the poem's structure, language, and imagery to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning.
The Break is a free-verse poem that consists of 35 lines divided into six stanzas. The poem's structure is irregular, with varying line lengths and no consistent rhyme scheme. This structure reflects the chaotic and fragmented nature of the speaker's thoughts and emotions. The poem's title, The Break, suggests a sudden and violent rupture, which is echoed in the poem's opening lines: "It was like a church to me. / I entered it on soft foot, / Breath held like a cap in the hand."
The speaker describes entering a mental hospital, which she compares to a church. This comparison suggests that the hospital is a place of refuge and sanctuary, where the speaker can find solace and peace. However, the speaker's breath is held like a cap in the hand, suggesting that she is afraid and anxious. This tension between safety and fear sets the tone for the rest of the poem.
The second stanza begins with the line, "It was quiet." This line is repeated twice, emphasizing the stillness and calmness of the hospital. However, the repetition also suggests a sense of monotony and boredom. The speaker describes the hospital as a "place of dull colors," where everything is "gray and silent." This imagery reinforces the idea that the hospital is a place of stasis and stagnation.
In the third stanza, the speaker describes the other patients in the hospital. She observes that they are "all broken," like "dolls with slits for eyes." This imagery is disturbing and unsettling, suggesting that the patients have lost their humanity and become objects. The speaker also notes that the patients are "all old," suggesting that mental illness is something that only affects the elderly. This stereotype is challenged in the next stanza.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker describes a young girl who is also a patient in the hospital. The girl is described as "a little bird," suggesting vulnerability and fragility. The speaker notes that the girl is "not yet able / to drink whiskey or coffee" and "not yet able / to love or be loved." This description highlights the girl's youth and innocence, and the fact that mental illness can affect anyone, regardless of age.
The fifth stanza begins with the line, "They are all gone away." This line suggests that the other patients have left the hospital, leaving the speaker alone. The speaker describes feeling "like a bird in a cage," trapped and isolated. She also notes that the hospital is "a place where nothing is done," suggesting that there is no hope for recovery or improvement.
The final stanza of the poem is the most powerful and emotional. The speaker describes a moment of clarity, where she realizes that she is "not a tree / with my root in the soil / sucking up minerals and motherly love." This realization suggests that the speaker has been searching for something that she cannot find in the hospital. She also notes that she is "not a girl anymore," suggesting that she has grown and changed during her time in the hospital.
The poem ends with the line, "And the dead leaves lie huddled and still, / No longer blown hither and thither; / The last lone aster is gone; / The flowers of the witch hazel wither." This imagery suggests that the speaker has come to a place of acceptance and resignation. The dead leaves and withered flowers represent the end of a cycle, and the speaker's realization that she cannot change her circumstances.
In conclusion, The Break is a powerful and haunting poem that explores the theme of mental breakdown and the struggle to find meaning in life. The poem's structure, language, and imagery all contribute to its overall effect, creating a sense of tension and unease that builds to a moment of clarity and acceptance. Anne Sexton's confessional style of poetry is on full display in this poem, as she draws on her own experiences to create a deeply personal and emotional work of art.
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