Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
This essay discusses the effects of Anne Sexton’s therapy on her poem “In Celebration of My Uterus.” While therapy certainly influenced the major themes and style of Sexton’s poetry, a broad study of therapy’s influence on her works undermines the intimate way in which therapy shaped Sexton’s individual poems. In order to assist the student of Sexton’s poetry in appreciating the magnitude of therapy in shaping her individual works of poetry, this essay addresses “In Celebration of My Uterus.” It discusses the therapeutic self-expression which inspired her to write “In Celebration of My Uterus” and how her therapy aimed to distance Sexton from her internal conflicts, reevaluate her own femininity, transform her personal suffering, better others through her poetry, and find a place in a larger whole. It examines how each of these aims are manifested in the poem “In Celebration of My Uterus” and how they shape its form, structure, style, and content. It also briefly explores how psychotherapy altered Sexton's perceptions of her poetry. By examining Sexton’s poem with this basic understanding of her experience in therapy, this essay allows a reader to appreciate the role of therapy in shaping her poetry and is also allowed a unique insight into the interpretation of her works.
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Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Trent Hickman
The Writing Between the Lines: The Effects of Psychotherapy on Anne Sexton's "In Celebration of My Uterus"
This essay discusses the effects of Anne Sexton’s therapy on her poem “In Celebration of My Uterus.” While therapy certainly influenced the major themes and style of Sexton’s poetry, a broad study of therapy’s influence on her works undermines the intimate way in which therapy shaped Sexton’s individual poems. In order to assist the student of Sexton’s poetry in appreciating the magnitude of therapy in shaping her individual works of poetry, this essay addresses “In Celebration of My Uterus.” It discusses the therapeutic self-expression which inspired her to write “In Celebration of My Uterus” and how her therapy aimed to distance Sexton from her internal conflicts, reevaluate her own femininity, transform her personal suffering, better others through her poetry, and find a place in a larger whole. It examines how each of these aims are manifested in the poem “In Celebration of My Uterus” and how they shape its form, structure, style, and content. It also briefly explores how psychotherapy altered Sexton's perceptions of her poetry. By examining Sexton’s poem with this basic understanding of her experience in therapy, this essay allows a reader to appreciate the role of therapy in shaping her poetry and is also allowed a unique insight into the interpretation of her works.