Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Bestiary U.S.A.: Porcupine," Anne Sexton delves into the imagery of the porcupine, using it as a metaphor for human suffering, resilience, and the struggle against imposed pain. The poem is dense with symbolic meaning, presenting the porcupine as an embodiment of both defense and vulnerability, and exploring the connections between personal pain and broader societal wounds.

The poem opens with the striking address "Spine hog," an evocative term that immediately brings to mind the porcupine’s most distinctive feature: its spines. These spines are described as "Little steel wings," "Knitting needles," and "Long steel bullets," each of which "stick into me." These images suggest that the porcupine's spines, while meant for protection, are also instruments of pain, piercing not just the porcupine itself but also the speaker, who identifies with this creature. The use of "steel" and "bullets" invokes violence and suggests a world where defense mechanisms become weapons, where the very things meant to protect can also cause harm.

Sexton then shifts to a deeply personal reflection with the lines "so like the four-inch / screws that hold me / in place, an iron / maiden the doctors / devised." Here, the speaker’s pain is made explicit, likening her experience to that of being trapped in an "iron maiden," a medieval torture device. The "four-inch screws" that "hold me in place" suggest medical intervention, perhaps referencing surgical procedures or other treatments meant to heal but that also inflict suffering. The porcupine’s spines become a metaphor for these screws—external objects forced into the body, causing pain and restriction.

The following lines, "Well then, / I'm taking them out, / spine by spine," reflect a desire to reclaim agency, to remove the sources of pain one by one. The act of "taking them out" is an act of defiance, a rejection of the imposed suffering. However, Sexton complicates this defiance by noting that these "nails" belong to "somebody else's," not "Jesus'," not "Anne's." The poem thus suggests that the pain is not self-inflicted but rather imposed by others, by society, or by historical and cultural forces.

Sexton broadens the metaphor in the following lines, distancing the nails from iconic symbols of power and history: "they don't belong to the / Brooklyn Bridge," "they don't fit into / the holes of the / White House," "they don't (any longer) / fit into Martin / Luther King, they / won't do in a Kennedy." These references to the Brooklyn Bridge, the White House, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy invoke symbols of American identity, leadership, and civil rights. By stating that these nails "don't belong" to these symbols, Sexton suggests that the pain she experiences is disconnected from these broader narratives, yet it still persists, still pushes into the earth, uncovering "some / old diamonds we’d never thought of."

The final lines, "And why not, old / Spine Hog U.S.A.?" bring the poem full circle, addressing the porcupine once again but now in the context of the United States itself. The porcupine, or "Spine Hog U.S.A.," becomes a symbol of the nation, resilient yet riddled with its own spines, its own deeply embedded pain. The "old diamonds" could represent hidden truths or forgotten histories, things buried beneath the surface that are revealed through struggle and suffering.

In "Bestiary U.S.A.: Porcupine," Sexton weaves together personal and collective suffering, using the imagery of the porcupine’s spines to explore themes of pain, resilience, and the quest for autonomy. The poem reflects on how pain, whether physical, emotional, or societal, can both wound and protect, can be both a burden and a source of unexpected revelation. Through this complex metaphor, Sexton invites readers to consider the ways in which they, too, might carry their own "spines"—the defenses and wounds that shape their experiences and their identities.

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