In Anne Sexton's poem, "Unknown Girl in the Maternity Ward", she emphasizes that the bond of a mother and child is very special and important and cannot be easily severed. She centers on the theme of motherhood incorporating the literary devices of similes, metaphors, and imagery.
The following poem uses the rhyme scheme a b a b, demonstrated through words such as "long", "bed", "strong", and "fed" in lines one through four. Because all of the stanzas follow this pattern, the rhythm is consistent and predictable. Thus showing that this poem is traditional. Sexton uses various types of figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and imagery to express herself. She illustrates nursing through phrases such as "the animals of your lips" (Sexton 26), and "you drink in my answers" (Sexton 24). The phrase "the animals of your lips" creates the image of animals, and the phrase "you drink my answers" creates the image of an animal drinking. She compares the father of her child as "some pendulum soul" (Sexton 14), showing how he would come and go, leaving the child to herself. She uses the similes "lie fisted like a snail" (Sexton 3) and "you tip like a cup" (Sexton 8) to describe the petiteness and fragility of her child. …show more content…
Sexton suffered from depression and was institutionalized in a hospital. She uses the phrase "But this is an institution bed" (Sexton 10) , which could relate to the institutions she had to visit throughout her life. "The doctor's are enamel" (Sexton 12). In this sense, it could also relate to how she felt about the doctors after the many hospital admittances throughout her life. At the age of 46, she took her own
The following poem uses the rhyme scheme a b a b, demonstrated through words such as "long", "bed", "strong", and "fed" in lines one through four. Because all of the stanzas follow this pattern, the rhythm is consistent and predictable. Thus showing that this poem is traditional. Sexton uses various types of figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and imagery to express herself. She illustrates nursing through phrases such as "the animals of your lips" (Sexton 26), and "you drink in my answers" (Sexton 24). The phrase "the animals of your lips" creates the image of animals, and the phrase "you drink my answers" creates the image of an animal drinking. She compares the father of her child as "some pendulum soul" (Sexton 14), showing how he would come and go, leaving the child to herself. She uses the similes "lie fisted like a snail" (Sexton 3) and "you tip like a cup" (Sexton 8) to describe the petiteness and fragility of her child. …show more content…
Sexton suffered from depression and was institutionalized in a hospital. She uses the phrase "But this is an institution bed" (Sexton 10) , which could relate to the institutions she had to visit throughout her life. "The doctor's are enamel" (Sexton 12). In this sense, it could also relate to how she felt about the doctors after the many hospital admittances throughout her life. At the age of 46, she took her own