Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's poem "The Ambition Bird" captures the intense and restless energy of the creative process, exploring the intersection between ambition and mortality. Through the metaphor of a bird embodying ambition, Sexton delves into the burdens and desires that drive her as a poet, contrasting these with a yearning for simplicity and peace.

The poem begins in the middle of the night, a time often associated with introspection and the surfacing of deep, unresolved thoughts. The speaker is awake at "3:15 A.M.," the precise time emphasizing the obsessive nature of her insomnia. The clock "tolling its engine" is a relentless reminder of time's passage, likened to a frog mechanically following "a sundial yet having an electric / seizure at the quarter hour." This image of a frog, traditionally a symbol of transformation and change, twisted into something mechanical and unnatural, sets the tone for the poem's exploration of the tension between natural desires and the compulsions imposed by ambition.

Sexton reveals that "the business of words" is what keeps her awake. The phrase "business of words" suggests a transactional, almost mercenary relationship with her craft, where writing becomes not just a passion but a duty or an obligation. The speaker attempts to find comfort in "cocoa, / that warm brown mama," a simple pleasure that evokes warmth and maternal care. Yet even this comforting image is overshadowed by the poet's admission that she would like "a simple life," but this desire is thwarted by the relentless drive to create, to lay "poems away in a long box," which she describes as her "immortality box," her "lay-away plan," her "coffin."

This box, which holds her poems, becomes a symbol of both her ambition and her mortality. It is where she stores her legacy, the proof of her existence that she hopes will outlive her. However, it is also her "coffin," a reminder that this ambition is inextricably linked to death. The act of writing, of pursuing immortality through words, is thus both life-affirming and death-acknowledging, an endeavor that is both creative and destructive.

The heart of the poem lies in the description of the "dark wings / flopping in my heart," each representing "an ambition bird." These birds are restless, filled with a desire to achieve greatness, but their ambitions are laced with self-destruction. The bird wants to be "dropped / from a high place like Tallahatchie Bridge," referencing the site of tragic events, suggesting a yearning for a dramatic, even catastrophic, end. This bird also desires to "light a kitchen match / and immolate himself," an image of self-sacrifice that underscores the destructive potential of unchecked ambition.

The bird's desires become increasingly grandiose and metaphysical. It wants to "fly into the hand of Michelangelo / and come out painted on a ceiling," to achieve the kind of immortality that transcends the ordinary, becoming part of a divine or artistic masterpiece. It wants to "pierce the hornet's nest / and come out with a long godhead," seeking enlightenment or divinity through pain and struggle. The bird's ambitions extend to performing miracles, transforming bread and wine into a man "happily floating in the Caribbean," and unlocking the mysteries of the Magi.

These ambitions are ultimately unattainable and reflect the poet's own understanding of the folly inherent in such desires. The repetition of "He wants" builds a sense of relentless striving, while the shift to "I want" personalizes these ambitions, revealing them as the poet's own. Yet, the poem ends with a tone of weary resignation: "Dear God, wouldn't it be / good enough to just drink cocoa?" Here, the speaker expresses a desire to abandon the exhausting pursuit of greatness for something simpler, more comforting, and more human.

The final lines, "I must get a new bird / and a new immortality box. / There is folly enough inside this one," suggest a recognition that the current cycle of ambition is unsustainable. The speaker acknowledges the need for change, for a different kind of ambition or perhaps a different relationship with ambition. The "folly" contained within the current bird and box is the endless striving that leads only to exhaustion and dissatisfaction.

"The Ambition Bird" is a powerful meditation on the duality of the creative process, where the drive for immortality through art is both a gift and a curse. Sexton captures the restlessness, the compulsions, and the inevitable weariness that come with ambition, offering a poignant reflection on the price of artistic pursuit.

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