Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s "Portrait of an Old Woman on the College Tavern Wall" is a haunting exploration of memory, mortality, and the enduring presence of the past. The poem, set in a tavern, juxtaposes the lively atmosphere of youthful song and conversation with the solemn reminders of death and aging that linger on the walls. Through a rich tapestry of imagery and repetition, Sexton delves into the themes of identity, legacy, and the poet’s place in the world.

The poem opens with a scene of vibrancy: "Oh down at the tavern / the children are singing / around their round table / and around me still." This depiction of children singing evokes a sense of life and continuity, yet the speaker immediately grounds this liveliness with the presence of an "old woman" symbolized by the pewter urn "pinned to the tavern wall." This juxtaposition of the living and the dead sets the tone for the rest of the poem, as Sexton reflects on the interplay between youth and age, life and death.

The pewter urn, described as "as old as old is able / to be and be there still," serves as a symbol of endurance and the passage of time. It represents not just the physical remains of the dead, but also the memories and legacies that persist even as the world moves on. The repetition of "as old as old is able" emphasizes the weight of time, suggesting that age itself is an accomplishment, a testament to survival. Yet, this survival is bittersweet, as it also speaks to the inevitability of being left behind, pinned to a wall, while life continues elsewhere.

Sexton then shifts her focus to a "wreath / made of a corpse's hair," framed in glass on the wall. This image is both macabre and poignant, capturing the way in which the dead are preserved, remembered, and even revered. The wreath, much like the urn, symbolizes a life that has ended but is still present in a tangible form, a relic that embodies both beauty and decay. The speaker’s contemplation of these objects leads her to reflect on her own place in this cycle, as she muses on the poets who "are there / I hear them singing and lying / around their round table / and around me still."

The repetition of the phrase "Did you hear what it said? / I only said" acts as a refrain throughout the poem, creating a sense of circularity and echoing the round table around which the children and poets gather. This refrain suggests an ongoing conversation with the past, a dialogue between the living and the dead that the speaker is both part of and distanced from. It also hints at the speaker’s desire to be heard, to assert her presence in a world that seems to be moving on without her.

As the poem progresses, the speaker expresses a longing to be part of the tavern’s lively atmosphere: "how I want to be there and I / would sing my songs with the liars / and my lies with all the singers." Here, Sexton explores the tension between truth and fiction, reality and illusion. The speaker yearns to join the poets and children, to participate in the creation of art and memory, even if it involves deception or embellishment. This desire speaks to a fundamental human need to connect, to leave a mark, and to be remembered.

The poem’s closing lines are both poignant and resigned: "it's my hair in the hair wreath, / my cup pinned to the tavern wall, / my dusty face they sing beneath." The speaker acknowledges her own mortality, recognizing that she too will become part of the tavern’s collection of relics. The final image of the poets sitting in her kitchen, questioning why they lie and why children beget children, underscores the cyclical nature of life and death, creation and decay. The speaker’s identity becomes intertwined with the objects on the wall, as she contemplates her own eventual place in the continuum of life.

In "Portrait of an Old Woman on the College Tavern Wall," Sexton masterfully weaves together themes of memory, mortality, and the desire for connection. The poem is a meditation on the ways in which we are remembered, the objects and symbols that carry our legacy, and the eternal conversation between the living and the dead. Through her vivid imagery and lyrical repetition, Sexton captures the bittersweet nature of existence, where life persists even as we fade, leaving behind traces of who we were and what we dreamed to be.

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