Anne Sexton's Courage

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The poem Courage by Anne Sexton is a very well written confessional poem. It includes the 4 stages of life which are childhood, young adulthood, middle age, and old age. Each of the four sections are set up to match one of the 4 stages of life. In these sections, it describes some memories and what happens in that stage of life. Anne Sexton also expresses what your courage is like in each of the four stages of life. She also has meaning behind some lines in each section which could reveal what and where exactly this situation could happen. The main subject she wants to express is how much your courage is developed in each stage of life.
The first stage of life is childhood and Anne Sexton does a really good job of including some childhood memories …show more content…

In this section she uses symbolism by including some memories that most children have during their childhood. In section two or stage two of your life she makes it very clear that this during this stage you are in your young adulthood. In lines 14-17 she is trying to symbolize how the person is starting to face fearful situations and also figuring out how to face life in general. Sexton also in line 20 she says “Your courage was a small coal” and what this means is that your courage starts out small but also begins to develop more. Now in section three or stage three of your she describes it as your middle ages or as you are a full adult. The meaning of lines 27-28 is that no one can help you deal with obstacles in your life and that you have to learn to survive on your own. Also in stage 4 of your life you start to understand your courage and also how to control it. Finally in section 4 of this poem is the 4th and final stage of your life which is when you are a senior citizen. In line 39 it says “when you face old age and it natural conclusion” and Sexton put this in here to symbolize death. Also in line 41 it says “each spring will be a sword you’ll

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