Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's poem "The Fury of Guitars and Sopranos" is a lyrical exploration of the powerful and transformative nature of music and the female voice, which Sexton intertwines with themes of love, sensuality, and the divine. Through rich, evocative imagery, Sexton captures the duality of music as both a source of life and a symbol of death, blending the sacred with the sensual in a way that reflects her deep engagement with the complexities of the human experience.

The poem begins with the assertion that "This singing / is a kind of dying, / a kind of birth, a votive candle." These opening lines immediately establish the central paradox of the poem: that singing, or perhaps more broadly, the act of artistic creation, embodies both an ending and a beginning. The comparison to a votive candle—a small, flickering light often associated with prayer or devotion—suggests that this act of creation is also an act of worship, something sacred that bridges the gap between life and death, the mortal and the divine.

Sexton introduces the figure of a "dream-mother" who sings with her guitar, filling the bedroom with "moonlight and beautiful olives." The image of the dream-mother is nurturing and ethereal, her music casting a gentle, nourishing light much like the moon. The olives, a symbol often associated with peace and fertility, enhance the sense of abundance and life that the dream-mother's music brings. Yet, there is also a sense of longing and distance, as this figure exists within the realm of dreams, a creation of the speaker’s imagination or memory.

The arrival of the flute, "joining the five strings," introduces a divine element to the music. The flute, with its "God finger over the holes," becomes a symbol of the divine breath, the life force that animates the world. This confluence of guitar and flute, of strings and breath, represents the harmony between the human and the divine, the earthly and the spiritual, in a way that is both deeply intimate and profoundly universal.

Sexton then shifts focus to a "beautiful woman" whose music is described in deeply sensual terms. This woman sings "with her fingertips" and has "eyes...brown / like small birds," suggesting a delicate, almost ephemeral beauty. The sensual imagery intensifies as the speaker describes drawing wine from the cup of her breasts and figs from the mound of her legs. These images evoke the classical associations of wine and figs with abundance, pleasure, and sensuality, while also suggesting a kind of spiritual nourishment.

The woman’s songs are described as "mysterious songs of God / that would have laid an army down," highlighting the power and profundity of her music. The idea that her songs could "lay an army down" suggests a kind of peaceful surrender, a force so potent and divine that it could disarm even the most hardened of hearts. This portrayal of music as both sensual and divine reflects Sexton’s recurring exploration of the intersection between physical love and spiritual longing.

The poem reaches its climax with the image of a morning-glory blooming in the woman’s throat, its "blue / and small pollen" eating into the speaker’s heart "violent and religious." The morning-glory, with its associations of dawn and new beginnings, becomes a metaphor for the transformative power of the woman’s voice, something that is both beautiful and overwhelming. The "violent and religious" impact of her singing suggests that the experience of this music is akin to a spiritual awakening, a force that is both awe-inspiring and unsettling, capable of reaching into the deepest parts of the soul.

"The Fury of Guitars and Sopranos" is a meditation on the power of music and the voice, especially as embodied by the feminine. Anne Sexton’s use of sensual and spiritual imagery highlights the profound impact that music can have on the human heart and soul, blurring the lines between the sacred and the profane, the physical and the divine. Through this poem, Sexton captures the essence of music as a force that is both life-giving and destructive, a force that nourishes and transforms, leaving an indelible mark on those who experience it.

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