Abstract
This research explores poet Anne Sexton’s use of food imagery in To Bedlam and Part Way Back, focusing on the way food is presented in contextual relation to the manic-depressive cycles Sexton was experiencing. This is placed within the socio-political climate of the 1950s-1960s which influences Sexton’s relationship with food.
Highlights
“I am either all the way there or I am not
Iona Murphy University of Huddersfield This research explores poet Anne Sexton’s use of food imagery in To Bedlam and Part Way Back, focusing on the way food is presented in contextual relation to the manic-depressive cycles Sexton was experiencing
Instead of pathologising Sexton, I intend to explore her poetry in relation to female relationships with food, and how manic and depressive states, intersected with the influence of comorbid disorders, impact Sexton’s poetic and personal relationship with food
Summary
“I am either all the way there or I am not. I don’t know how to walk this middle line” (Skorczewski 109). The Impact of Manic and Depressive States on Anne Sexton’s Poetic Depictions of Food. Instead of pathologising Sexton, I intend to explore her poetry in relation to female relationships with food, and how manic and depressive states, intersected with the influence of comorbid disorders, impact Sexton’s poetic and personal relationship with food.
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