Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s "Rats Live on No Evil Star" offers a fascinating and darkly humorous take on the biblical story of Adam and Eve, blending myth with grotesque imagery and existential musings. The title itself, a palindrome, hints at the poem’s exploration of cyclical patterns and the inescapable nature of certain human experiences, such as sin, death, and the pursuit of meaning. Sexton’s retelling of this ancient tale is both subversive and reflective, challenging traditional interpretations while probing the deeper anxieties that lie beneath the surface of human existence.

The poem begins with a reimagining of the creation of Eve, who emerges from Adam’s rib "like an angry bird." This description immediately sets a tone of defiance and independence, suggesting that Eve’s creation is not a passive or submissive act but rather one of force and agency. Sexton’s Eve is not a meek companion but a powerful figure, escaping "like a bird that got loose / suddenly from its cage." The imagery of Eve as a bird, especially one that has been caged, evokes a sense of entrapment and the subsequent desire for freedom. This portrayal contrasts sharply with traditional depictions of Eve as the obedient and subservient partner, instead presenting her as a symbol of rebellion and self-assertion.

As the poem progresses, Sexton shifts her focus to the consequences of Eve’s actions, particularly the consumption of the forbidden fruit. The "apple" in this retelling is associated with not just the fall of man but also the birth of something deeply unsettling—"the evilest of creatures" with "two eyes full of poison." This creature, described as a rat, embodies the grotesque and the unnatural, a symbol of the corruption and decay that follows the original sin. The rat’s birth is depicted as an "unnatural act," further emphasizing the perverse and distorted nature of the aftermath of Eve’s actions. This creature, ugly and malformed, becomes a metaphor for the darker aspects of human nature, the parts of ourselves that we would rather not acknowledge but are inescapably part of our existence.

Sexton’s depiction of the rat as something that "slid from her like a pearl" is particularly striking. The pearl, often associated with beauty and purity, is here inverted to represent something hideous and corrupt. This inversion reflects the poem’s broader theme of the perversion of natural order and the subversion of traditional symbols. The rat, though "ugly," is not recognized as such by Eve, who, in her innocence, does not see the corruption that she has brought into the world. This ignorance, or perhaps willful blindness, to the ugliness of the rat mirrors humanity’s tendency to overlook or rationalize the darker aspects of our own nature.

The poem’s conclusion introduces the concept of the "RAT'S STAR," a place where "all us cursed ones" go after death. This star, described as "as wide as Asia" and "as happy as a barbershop quartet," is an ironic twist on the traditional notions of heaven and hell. Rather than being consigned to eternal torment or bliss, the "cursed ones" are placed on this star, a space that seems both vast and trivial, a place of eternal mediocrity. The image of the "three thieves" alongside whom the cursed ones are placed further underscores the idea that those who have sinned, even in the most egregious ways, are not condemned but instead share in a strange, almost absurd, afterlife. The final line, "deserve to smile in eternity," suggests a bleak resignation to this fate, where even the lowest among us are granted a kind of hollow consolation in the afterlife.

"Rats Live on No Evil Star" ultimately presents a view of human existence that is both cynical and compassionate. Sexton’s use of grotesque imagery and dark humor serves to highlight the absurdity and futility of certain aspects of life, while also acknowledging the inevitability of sin and the shared human experience of suffering and death. The poem challenges the reader to confront the less savory parts of existence and to find meaning, however fleeting or ironic, in the midst of it all. In Sexton’s hands, the story of Adam and Eve becomes not just a tale of fall and redemption but a meditation on the complexities of human nature and the existential questions that continue to haunt us.

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