Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Killing the Love," Anne Sexton explores the brutal dissolution of a once passionate and meaningful relationship. The poem is a raw, visceral expression of the pain and emptiness that follow the end of love, as well as the destructive impulses that accompany such a loss. Sexton’s characteristic intensity and stark imagery powerfully convey the emotional and psychological devastation inherent in the act of "killing" love.

The poem begins with a stark declaration: "I am the love killer," immediately establishing the speaker’s role as the agent of destruction. This self-identification as the destroyer of love sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which chronicles the methodical dismantling of what was once cherished. The use of "murdering" in reference to music—a symbol of the harmony and connection between the lovers—suggests that the speaker is actively erasing the emotional resonance that once defined their relationship.

Sexton intensifies this sense of destruction by describing the physical and emotional unraveling of the relationship: "I am murdering me, where I kneeled at your kiss." Here, the act of kneeling, typically a gesture of reverence or submission, is inverted. It becomes a site of self-destruction rather than connection or devotion. The speaker’s mention of pushing "knives through the hands that created two into one" vividly illustrates the severing of the bond that once united them, reducing the sacred act of union to an act of violence.

The poem’s imagery of boats swamping in the sea—"I am taking the boats of our beds and swamping them"—evokes a sense of inevitable ruin. The beds, once a place of intimacy and togetherness, are now symbols of sinking and suffocation, "cough[ing] on the sea and choke[ing] on it." The speaker is not merely ending the relationship; she is actively ensuring its destruction, ensuring that it "go[es] down into nothing."

As the poem progresses, the speaker’s actions grow more grotesque and aggressive, culminating in the vivid image of stuffing the lover’s mouth with broken promises, "watching you vomit them out upon my face." This image is repulsive, highlighting the utter disillusionment and revulsion the speaker feels. The promises that once held significance are now nothing more than lies to be expelled, leaving a stain on the relationship and on the speaker herself.

Sexton’s reference to "The Camp we directed" suggests a shared life or project—perhaps the relationship itself or a literal family unit—that has now been annihilated: "I have gassed the campers." This violent metaphor for annihilation underscores the totality of the speaker’s destruction, leaving her "alone with the dead," consumed by the detritus of what was once alive and vibrant.

The speaker’s sense of self-annihilation is further expressed through her detachment: "I am flying like a single red rose, leaving a jet stream of solitude." The rose, often a symbol of love, is now isolated, its beauty tainted by loneliness. The speaker’s "insides are empty," and her "face is as blank as a wall," indicating a complete emotional numbness, a stark contrast to the violent emotions that preceded this state.

In the poem’s closing stanzas, the speaker contemplates the aftermath of this destruction: "Shall I call the funeral director?" She envisions the burial of the relationship, with their "two bodies into one pink casket," a grim fusion of what once was. The suggestion that "someone might send flowers" and "someone might come to mourn" speaks to the societal rituals of mourning, yet the speaker herself is disconnected from these rituals, emphasizing the isolation she feels in her grief.

The poem ends with a haunting image of the speaker in a red dress, "dancing on her own Ellis Island," a place historically associated with new beginnings and hope, now twisted into a site of loneliness and despair. The "cars will go by" repeatedly, indifferent to her isolation, and there is "no scream"—only silence and the haunting image of a woman dancing alone.

"Killing the Love" is a powerful exploration of the emotional devastation that accompanies the end of a relationship. Sexton’s use of violent, raw imagery conveys the depth of the speaker’s pain and the irrevocable destruction of something once cherished. The poem is a testament to the complexities of love and loss, capturing the profound sense of emptiness that follows the death of a connection that once defined one’s existence.

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