Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s "Flee on Your Donkey" is a profound and intense exploration of mental illness, the cyclic nature of despair, and the search for escape from the relentless grip of madness. Through a blend of vivid imagery, personal reflection, and literary allusion, the poem captures the speaker’s sense of entrapment within both the physical confines of a mental institution and the psychological prison of her own mind. Sexton intertwines elements of personal history with broader existential questions, creating a powerful narrative of suffering, resilience, and the desperate desire for liberation.

The poem begins with a quotation from Rimbaud, setting the tone for a journey or escape—an imperative to "flee." The speaker describes a return to the "scene of the disordered senses," a mental hospital, where she arrives "without luggage or defenses," symbolizing a complete surrender to the institution and her own fractured state of mind. The act of signing herself in, marked by "inked-in X’s," strips her of her identity, reducing her to a mere symbol, a patient in a system that views her as an object rather than a person.

The speaker’s description of the hospital is both surreal and haunting. She observes the internal workings of the institution—the "interne knocks my knees, / testing for reflexes," and "crows play black-jack / on the stethoscope"—which suggests a disconnection between the medical procedures meant to restore health and the speaker’s internal reality, which is dominated by darkness and a sense of futility. The presence of "crows," often symbolic of death and doom, playing a game on a medical instrument further underscores the absurdity and hopelessness of her situation.

The poem is deeply autobiographical, with references to Sexton’s personal experiences in mental institutions and the struggles she faced with her own mental health. The "muse, / that good nurse," who stays with her as "a mild white mouse," represents the creative force that remains with the speaker despite the overwhelming despair. This muse is a source of comfort and continuity, even as everything else in the speaker’s life seems to unravel.

The speaker reflects on the other patients in the hospital, who are described in grotesque, almost caricature-like terms—"Upstairs a girl curls like a snail," "someone tries to eat a shoe," and "an adolescent pads up and down / the hall in his white tennis socks." These images portray the dehumanizing effects of institutionalization, where individuals are reduced to their most basic, often absurd, behaviors. The hospital becomes a microcosm of madness, a place where time seems to stand still, and where the speaker’s sense of self is continually eroded.

The speaker’s memories of her parents are particularly harrowing. Her mother, "wrapped like somebody’s doll, in sheets," and her father, who "went out on the rotten blood / he used up on other women," are depicted as broken, defeated figures. The description of her father as a "cured old alcoholic" who "went out calling for his father" reflects a lineage of dysfunction and unresolved trauma. These familial memories are intertwined with the speaker’s own struggles, suggesting that her mental illness is not only a personal battle but also a continuation of a familial curse.

The poem’s tone shifts as the speaker addresses her psychiatrist, who is compared to Christ, but with a dark twist. The psychiatrist "promised me another world / to tell me who / I was," yet this promise is unfulfilled, as the speaker remains trapped in her madness. The psychiatrist is described as "the new God," but instead of offering salvation, he presides over the speaker’s continued suffering and confusion. The reference to "thirty-three years of the same dull incest" is particularly striking, suggesting a cycle of abuse or trauma that has defined the speaker’s life and identity.

The poem’s climax comes when the speaker recounts a dramatic collapse outside the psychiatrist’s office, where she "pretended dead for eight hours." This act of feigned death symbolizes the speaker’s profound sense of despair and her desire to escape the unbearable weight of her existence. The image of the speaker as "an overcoat / that someone had thrown away" evokes a sense of abandonment and loss of agency, as if she has been discarded by the world.

Despite the bleakness of the poem, there is also a sense of defiance and a yearning for escape. The repeated cry of "O my hunger! My hunger!" captures the speaker’s deep, unfulfilled desire for something beyond the confines of the institution and her mental illness. This hunger is both literal and metaphorical, representing the speaker’s need for nourishment—whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual—that remains unsatisfied.

The poem concludes with a powerful and surreal image of the speaker urging herself to "flee on your donkey," a command to escape the "sad hotel" of the mental hospital and the madness that has claimed the lives of those she loved. The donkey, often associated with humility and burden-bearing, becomes a symbol of the speaker’s escape, a slow but determined departure from the prison of her mind.

"Flee on Your Donkey" is a deeply moving and complex exploration of mental illness, identity, and the struggle for freedom. Sexton’s use of rich, evocative imagery and her unflinching portrayal of her own experiences create a powerful narrative of suffering and resilience. The poem captures the tension between the desire to escape and the pervasive sense of being trapped, both by external circumstances and by the internal workings of the mind. It is a testament to Sexton’s ability to confront the darkest aspects of her life with honesty and courage, using her poetry as a means of both survival and self-expression.

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