Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "For Eleanor Boylan Talking with God" is a poem that blends the ordinary with the divine, exploring the complex, often intimate relationship between an individual and their conception of God. Through vivid imagery and a tone that shifts between reverence, skepticism, and desperation, Sexton paints a picture of a scene both deeply personal and universally relatable.

The poem opens with a striking description of God's voice as "brown," a color not typically associated with divinity, yet one that conveys warmth, earthiness, and a kind of approachable familiarity. Sexton adds that it is "as soft and full as beer," a simile that further humanizes God, making Him less of an abstract, distant figure and more of a comforting presence, akin to a drink shared among friends. This choice of imagery immediately sets the tone for the poem, where the sacred is intertwined with the mundane, and the divine is made accessible and relatable.

The central figure in the poem, Eleanor, is described as "more beautiful than my mother," a comparison that emphasizes her significance to the speaker. Eleanor's beauty is not just physical but also seems to be tied to her spiritual connection with God. She stands in her kitchen, a domestic space that symbolizes the everyday, yet she is engaged in a conversation with God, elevating the ordinary to the realm of the sacred. The image of her "lemon-colored sun dress" adds brightness and warmth to the scene, suggesting that Eleanor is a figure of light and life.

Sexton contrasts Eleanor's interaction with God with her own experience, where the speaker is "breathing in my cigarettes like poison." This self-destructive act highlights the speaker's inner turmoil and possibly a sense of alienation or inadequacy when compared to Eleanor's serene communion with the divine. The cigarettes, a symbol of addiction and decay, stand in stark contrast to the spiritual purity and cleanliness associated with Eleanor, whose "wet hands / glossy from the washing of egg plates" suggest domestic care and nurturing.

Eleanor’s conversation with God is described as "casual but friendly," suggesting an ease and familiarity in her relationship with the divine that the speaker both observes and envies. God is depicted as being "as close as the ceiling," an ever-present but unseen force. This proximity contrasts with the speaker's sense that "no one can ever know" God's true nature, reflecting a universal struggle to comprehend the divine. The speaker admits, "I don't think he has a face," a statement that underscores the mystery and unknowability of God, despite His closeness.

Sexton reflects on her own childhood perceptions of God, recalling that He "had a face when I was six and a half," a time when the world was perhaps simpler and more concrete. Now, God has become "large, covering up the sky / like a great resting jellyfish," an image that conveys both the vastness and the formlessness of the divine. The comparison to a jellyfish, a creature that is both beautiful and potentially dangerous, hints at the speaker's ambivalence towards God—He is immense and enveloping, but also elusive and possibly fearsome.

The poem then shifts to a reflection on death and the afterlife, where the speaker recalls that as a child, she believed "the dead people / stayed up there like blimps." This childlike notion of the afterlife, where the dead float benignly above, contrasts with the speaker's current reality, where her "chair is as hard as a scarecrow" and the summer flies outside "sing like a choir." These lines evoke a sense of discomfort and disillusionment, where the harshness of reality has replaced the comforting fantasies of childhood.

The poem concludes with a plea to Eleanor, "before he leaves tell him," suggesting an urgency in conveying a message to God before it is too late. The repetition of "Oh Eleanor, Eleanor," underscores the desperation and longing in the speaker’s voice, as she urges Eleanor to communicate with God on her behalf "before death uses you up." This final line encapsulates the fear of mortality and the desire for divine intervention or understanding before time runs out.

"For Eleanor Boylan Talking with God" is a meditation on faith, mortality, and the struggle to connect with the divine in a world that often feels disjointed and alienating. Through the character of Eleanor, Sexton explores the possibility of a personal, intimate relationship with God, while also acknowledging the difficulty and mystery inherent in such a relationship. The poem’s blend of domestic imagery with profound spiritual questioning creates a powerful contrast between the everyday and the eternal, capturing the complexity of human experience as it intersects with the divine.

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