Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's poem "Young" is a tender and evocative reflection on the speaker's childhood, capturing the innocence and wonder of youth, as well as the subtle undercurrents of loneliness and introspection that accompany it. The poem creates a vivid snapshot of a summer evening, where the physical setting and the speaker's inner world merge to evoke the complex emotions of growing up. Through rich imagery and a nostalgic tone, Sexton explores themes of identity, the passage of time, and the search for meaning in the early stages of life.

The poem begins with the phrase "A thousand doors ago," which immediately establishes a sense of distance, as if the events being described took place in a time that feels both distant and close, marked by the many metaphorical "doors" that have been passed through since then. This image of doors also suggests the transitions and changes that define childhood and adolescence, each one representing a different stage or moment in the speaker's life.

The speaker describes herself as "a lonely kid / in a big house with four / garages." The juxtaposition of "lonely" with the "big house" hints at the isolation the speaker felt despite the material comforts around her. The mention of "four garages" emphasizes the size and perhaps the affluence of the setting, but it also underscores the speaker's sense of solitude in such a vast space. The word "lonely" introduces an emotional layer that runs throughout the poem, suggesting that, even in the midst of a seemingly idyllic childhood, the speaker grappled with feelings of isolation and the longing for connection.

The setting is described as summer, a time often associated with freedom and playfulness, and the speaker notes that it "was summer / as long as I could remember." This line evokes the timeless quality of childhood summers, where days stretch endlessly and the passage of time feels almost suspended. The speaker lying "on the lawn at night" suggests a moment of solitude and contemplation, where she is both physically grounded and mentally adrift, lost in thought beneath the stars.

The imagery of "clover wrinkling under me" and "the wise stars bedding over me" creates a sense of the natural world enveloping the speaker, with the clover and stars forming a comforting yet vast environment. The stars are described as "wise," implying that they hold a knowledge or insight that the speaker, in her youthful curiosity, seeks to understand. The stars become silent confidants as the speaker, lying on the lawn in her "brand new body," contemplates her place in the world.

The poem subtly contrasts the warmth and openness of the natural world with the closed, distant presence of the adults in the house. The "funnel / of yellow heat" running out of the mother's window suggests a connection to the warmth and security of the home, but it is distant and filtered, not directly accessible. The father's window, "half shut," is described as "an eye where sleepers pass," conveying a sense of watchfulness but also detachment. The half-shut window implies a barrier between the father and the speaker, symbolizing the partial, incomplete connection between them. This image reinforces the theme of isolation, as the speaker feels observed but not fully understood or embraced.

The description of the house itself, with "boards... smooth and white as wax," adds to the sense of the house as both a protective and a sterile environment, pristine but perhaps lacking in warmth or life. The house is a physical structure that provides shelter, but it also represents the boundaries and limitations that the speaker feels as she lies outside, looking up at the stars.

The natural world is alive with movement and sound: "probably a million leaves sailed on their strange stalks / as the crickets ticked together." The leaves and crickets create a symphony of life around the speaker, contrasting with the stillness and silence of the house. The speaker, in her "brand new body, / which was not a woman's yet," is on the cusp of transformation, caught between the innocence of childhood and the approaching complexity of adulthood. The "brand new body" represents the speaker's emerging awareness of herself, her physicality, and the changes that lie ahead.

In the final lines, the speaker reveals her introspective nature, as she "told the stars my questions / and thought God could really see." This moment captures the earnestness and openness of childhood, where the speaker believes in the possibility of direct communication with the divine. The stars, representing the vastness of the universe, become a canvas onto which the speaker projects her thoughts and questions, seeking answers or comfort from a higher power.

The closing line, "the heat and the painted light, / elbows, knees, dreams, goodnight," blends the physical and the abstract, the concrete details of the evening with the intangible nature of dreams and the speaker's farewell to the day. The mention of "elbows, knees" grounds the poem in the physicality of the speaker's body, while "dreams, goodnight" signals the transition from wakefulness to sleep, from the conscious world to the subconscious.

In "Young," Anne Sexton captures the poignant and bittersweet experience of childhood, where the world is both familiar and mysterious, and where the speaker grapples with feelings of loneliness, wonder, and the search for meaning. Through her use of vivid imagery and a reflective tone, Sexton evokes the delicate balance between innocence and the growing awareness of the complexities of life, creating a powerful meditation on the passage of time and the enduring impact of those early moments of self-discovery.

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