Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s "Loving the Killer" is a visceral exploration of love, death, and the haunting memories that persist even in the most intimate relationships. The poem intertwines the speaker's experiences with the violence of a safari and the specter of familial ghosts, creating a vivid tapestry where love is both a redemptive force and a destructive one. Sexton’s use of brutal imagery, particularly in relation to the safari, underscores the darker undercurrents that permeate the poem, revealing the complexities of human emotions and the often painful intersections of love and death.

The poem begins with the return of summer, symbolized by the crates that have been shipped home, a powerful metaphor for the remnants of a time once vibrant and alive but now reduced to mere objects. The crates are not just physical items; they hold the emotional weight of the speaker's memories, both beautiful and grotesque. The summer that once represented warmth and life is now tied to the "personal effects" and "sweaty jackets" that carry the scent of past experiences. The inclusion of the "wasted ghost" of the speaker's parents and the spirit of a dead dog further amplifies the sense of loss and the inevitability of death, even in the midst of love.

The safari, a central motif in the poem, becomes a metaphor for the violence inherent in love. The speaker’s acknowledgment of having only "carried a camera" while love "came after the gun, after the kill" highlights the dissonance between the innocence of observation and the brutality of action. The presence of Saedi, the "former cannibal," serving food in a civilized manner contrasts sharply with the speaker’s act of vomiting behind the tent, symbolizing the rejection of this violence even as it is inextricably linked to their shared experience. The hyena's laughter in the "middle of nowhere" adds a chilling reminder that death and predation are never far from the surface, even in moments of perceived safety.

The reference to "Emily Goering" introduces a historical and moral dimension, drawing a parallel between the speaker's complicity in the safari and the atrocities of the Holocaust. The speaker’s reflection that "I am no different from Emily Goering" suggests a deep-seated guilt, a recognition of being part of a system of violence and death, even if only by association. This connection to historical evil underscores the poem's exploration of the darker aspects of love, where the "killer" within the lover is an undeniable reality.

As the poem progresses, the crates reveal their contents—"Bones piled up like coal" and "animal bones shaped like golf balls, school pencils, fingers, and noses." These items, which should be mundane, become symbols of the grotesque, reminding the reader of the costs of both physical and emotional violence. The meticulous listing of the skulls and skins, "on and on to New York," suggests a commodification of death, a stark reminder of the human tendency to collect and display the remains of the conquered.

The final lines of the poem return to the relationship between the speaker and the lover, where love and death become intertwined in a macabre dance. The meeting of "our skins, our bones" symbolizes the intimate connection between the two, yet this connection is fraught with the knowledge of the "killer" within. The desperate need expressed in the line "My need is more desperate!" reveals the underlying tension in the relationship, where love becomes a consuming force, capable of both nurturing and annihilating.

"Loving the Killer" is a powerful meditation on the dual nature of love, where the beauty of connection is always shadowed by the potential for destruction. Sexton’s imagery of the safari, the bones, and the ghosts of the past serves to highlight the inescapable presence of death within love, challenging the reader to confront the complexities of human emotions and the often painful realities that accompany them. The poem’s conclusion, with its merging of love and violence, leaves the reader with a haunting reminder that even in the most tender moments, the specter of the killer is never far away.

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