Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's poem "The Fury of Hating Eyes" is a powerful exploration of the intense and often destructive emotions that accompany hatred, as well as the profound impact of being subjected to the malevolent gaze of others. Through visceral imagery and a tone that oscillates between anger and vulnerability, Sexton delves into the deep psychological scars left by the eyes that have judged, condemned, and inflicted pain upon her. The poem captures the desire to escape from these harmful gazes, to bury them and their influence deep within the earth, where they can no longer harm or haunt.

The poem opens with a stark wish: "I would like to bury / all the hating eyes / under the sand somewhere off / the North Atlantic." The imagery of burial suggests a desire to completely eradicate the presence of these eyes, to remove their ability to see, judge, or inflict pain. The specific mention of the North Atlantic, with its cold, harsh environment, adds to the sense of finality and inaccessibility—the idea that once buried, these eyes would be permanently silenced, suffocated "with the awful sand" that would "put all their colors to sleep."

Sexton then personalizes these "hating eyes" by recalling specific pairs that have had a significant impact on her life. The "brown eyes of my father," described as "gun shots" and "mean muds," evoke a sense of violence and harshness, as if his gaze was both penetrating and dirty, a source of deep psychological wounds. The father’s eyes are emblematic of authority and power wielded without compassion, leaving the speaker with a desire to "bury them" and escape their judgment.

Similarly, the "blue eyes of my mother," which are "naked as the sea," are described as "waiting to pull you down where there is no air, no God." This image suggests a different kind of threat—one that is not violent but suffocating, overwhelming in its depth and ability to drag the speaker into a place of despair or hopelessness. The mother’s gaze is depicted as cold and relentless, like the sea, an all-consuming force that threatens to drown the speaker in its expectations or demands.

The "black eyes of my lover," characterized as "coal eyes like a cruel hog," introduce a different form of malevolence. These eyes "want to whip you and laugh," suggesting a sadistic pleasure in inflicting pain, a desire to dominate and control through cruelty. The lover’s gaze is particularly threatening because it combines intimacy with violence, love with hatred, further complicating the speaker’s emotional landscape.

Sexton then broadens the scope of her condemnation to include the "hating eyes of martyrs, / presidents, bus collectors, / bank managers, soldiers." This list encompasses a wide range of societal roles, from the revered to the mundane, indicating that hatred and judgment are pervasive, found in all walks of life. The desire to "bury them" reflects the speaker’s exhaustion with the constant scrutiny and condemnation that she perceives from every direction, whether it be from figures of authority, everyday encounters, or even those who are supposed to be heroic.

In a striking turn, the speaker includes her own eyes in the list of those to be buried: "Take my eyes, half blind / and falling into the air. / Bury them." This admission suggests a self-awareness of her own capacity for judgment, bitterness, or perhaps self-loathing. The description of her eyes as "half blind" indicates a recognition of her own flaws and limitations, her inability to see clearly or completely, and the desire to escape from even her own gaze.

The poem then shifts to address the reader directly: "Take your eyes." This line invites the reader to consider their own role in the cycle of judgment and hatred, implicating them in the broader pattern that the speaker seeks to escape. The speaker describes a terrifying encounter with death, personified as a shark that "looks up at death / and thinks of my death," a reflection of the omnipresent threat that these hating eyes represent.

The final lines of the poem return to the image of the speaker's heart being squeezed "like a doughnut," and her eyes being stabbed with a hatpin. These violent images convey the intensity of the speaker's suffering, the deep psychological and emotional pain inflicted by the hatred and judgment of others. The poem ends on a chilling note, with the speaker folding "up in front of them / in a baby ball," a posture of extreme vulnerability and defensiveness, as she imagines the hateful eyes being sent "to the State Asylum," where they continue to watch her "from behind the kind bars."

"The Fury of Hating Eyes" is a deeply personal and emotionally charged poem that explores the corrosive effects of hatred, judgment, and cruelty. Through her use of vivid and often unsettling imagery, Anne Sexton captures the profound impact that the gaze of others can have on the psyche, as well as the desperate desire to escape from its grip. The poem reflects on the ways in which hatred, both received and internalized, can shape and distort one's sense of self, leading to a longing for peace, for the silencing of those eyes that see only to condemn.

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