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THE EXORCISTS, by             Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography

Anne Sexton’s poem "The Exorcists" is a haunting exploration of memory, denial, and the act of exorcising past experiences from one’s consciousness. Through vivid imagery and a tone that oscillates between solemnity and defiance, Sexton delves into the complexities of confronting—and ultimately rejecting—painful memories. The poem’s structure and language evoke a ritualistic purging, as the speaker seeks to distance themselves from a past that is simultaneously vivid and intangible.

The poem opens with a solemn declaration, "And I solemnly swear / on the chill of secrecy," immediately setting a tone of grave seriousness and formality. The act of swearing suggests a commitment to forgetting or denying something significant. The "chill of secrecy" introduces an atmosphere of coldness and detachment, as if the speaker is preparing to sever emotional ties with the memories they are about to recount. This detachment is further emphasized by the speaker’s disavowal of various elements of their environment: "I know you not, this room never, / the swollen dress I wear." By denying knowledge of these objects, the speaker attempts to erase their connection to a particular time and place, a form of self-protection against the pain these memories might bring.

Sexton’s use of the word "swollen" to describe the dress hints at the burden of these memories—the dress is not merely worn, but "swollen," suggesting that it is weighed down by the emotional baggage of the past. The "anonymous spoons that free me" and the "calendar" also become symbols of the mundane aspects of life that the speaker seeks to disassociate from, as if these everyday objects are complicit in the emotional toll they have endured. The "pulse we pare and cover" suggests a deliberate act of diminishing or concealing one’s life force or emotional intensity, perhaps as a way to cope with the weight of these memories.

The poem’s first stanza concludes with the introduction of a "wandering ghost" and a "yellow moth of my summer bed." These images conjure a sense of something ethereal and haunting, lingering in the speaker’s consciousness. The ghost represents the past that refuses to be fully exorcised, while the moth—a creature often associated with attraction to light—symbolizes the persistent draw of these memories, despite the speaker’s efforts to deny them. The speaker’s assertion that "this small event / is not" serves as a forceful denial, an attempt to erase the significance of the memory, even as the vividness of the imagery suggests otherwise.

In the second stanza, Sexton shifts from the ritualistic tone of denial to a more narrative recollection of a specific memory: a summer storm at the beach. The speaker describes being "brown with August," evoking a sense of warmth and vitality, before the arrival of a storm disrupts the idyllic scene. The "clapping waves" and the "storm riding into the cove" introduce a sense of impending chaos and danger. The imagery of the storm—"Black arms of thunder strapped / upon us"—is powerful and evocative, suggesting both the physical intensity of the experience and the emotional turmoil it represents.

As the storm intensifies, the speaker and their companion swim for shore, "trapped / in green" and surrounded by "lightning belling around / our skin." The description of lightning "belling" around their skin is particularly striking, blending the auditory and tactile senses to convey the overwhelming nature of the storm. This moment of physical struggle against the elements mirrors the speaker’s internal struggle to confront and ultimately reject the memory.

The final stanza returns to the theme of denial, as the speaker seeks refuge in a "yellow" lobsterman-shack, described as "the underwing of the sun." This image of shelter and warmth contrasts with the storm outside, representing a brief moment of safety and comfort. However, the speaker quickly reasserts their earlier disavowal: "I swear, / I most solemnly swear, on all the bric-a-brac / of summer loves, I know / you not." The repetition of "I swear" reinforces the speaker’s determination to reject the memory, while the reference to "the bric-a-brac / of summer loves" suggests that this denial is not just of one particular memory, but of an entire season of experiences that have been rendered painful or meaningless by time.

"The Exorcists" is a complex and layered poem that explores the process of exorcising painful memories from one’s consciousness. Through a combination of vivid imagery, formal language, and a tone that balances solemnity with defiance, Sexton captures the tension between the desire to forget and the persistence of memory. The speaker’s repeated denials serve as a form of self-protection, yet the intensity of the imagery suggests that these memories are not so easily dismissed. In the end, the poem leaves the reader with a sense of the ongoing struggle to reconcile with the past, and the realization that some memories, no matter how vehemently denied, continue to haunt the psyche.


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