Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "Consorting with Angels" is a powerful exploration of gender, identity, and the transcendence of traditional roles and expectations. Through vivid imagery and a blend of dreamlike and biblical references, Sexton reflects on the exhaustion and limitations imposed by conventional femininity, ultimately imagining a liberation from these constraints through a mystical and transformative experience.

The poem begins with a stark declaration: "I was tired of being a woman," immediately setting the tone of disillusionment and weariness. The speaker lists the various aspects of womanhood that have become burdensome—"the spoons and the pots," "my mouth and my breasts," "the cosmetics and the silks." These items symbolize the domestic, physical, and superficial demands placed on women, which the speaker finds increasingly oppressive. The repetition of "tired" underscores the deep exhaustion the speaker feels, not just with the tasks and roles themselves, but with the entire construct of femininity as it has been imposed upon her.

Despite her weariness, the speaker acknowledges that "there were still men who sat at my table, / circled around the bowl I offered up." This image evokes a traditional scene of domesticity and nurturing, where the woman is expected to serve and provide. The bowl, filled with "purple grapes," symbolizes the offerings of the woman—the fruits of her labor and her body. However, the presence of "flies" hovering for the scent hints at the corruption and decay inherent in this arrangement, suggesting that what is offered is not appreciated or respected but rather consumed thoughtlessly. The mention of the speaker's father "with his white bone" further complicates the image, introducing a sense of patriarchy and ancestral expectation, where even familial love is intertwined with duty and obligation.

The speaker then reveals a pivotal moment: "Last night I had a dream," signaling a transition from the oppressive reality to a realm of possibility and transformation. In the dream, the speaker addresses it directly, saying, "You are the answer. / You will outlive my husband and my father." This line indicates a longing for something eternal and transcendent, something that exists beyond the temporal and patriarchal constraints that have defined her life.

The dreamscape the speaker enters is surreal and charged with symbolic meaning. The "city made of chains" where "Joan was put to death in man's clothes" invokes the story of Joan of Arc, a woman who defied gender norms and was martyred for it. The chains symbolize both the constraints placed on women and the societal punishment for transgressing those boundaries. The "nature of the angels" going "unexplained" and their diverse, bizarre forms—"one with a nose, one with an ear in its hand, / one chewing a star and recording its orbit"—reflect the poem's exploration of nonconformity and the rejection of singular, rigid definitions of identity. These angels, like "poems obeying themselves," perform divine functions that are beyond human understanding, representing a state of being that transcends earthly concerns, including gender.

The speaker's declaration, "You are the answer," and her subsequent entry into this mystical city signify her acceptance of this new, liberated identity. The chains being "fastened around me" suggests a paradoxical freedom through surrender—by losing her "common gender and [her] final aspect," the speaker sheds the limitations that have defined her. In this state, she is neither woman nor man, but something beyond, something more fluid and encompassing.

The poem reaches its climax with the invocation of biblical language: "0 daughters of Jerusalem, / the king has brought me into his chamber." This allusion to the Song of Solomon, a text that intertwines themes of love, desire, and divine union, reinforces the idea of a mystical marriage, a union with the divine that transcends earthly identity. The speaker's proclamation, "I am black and I am beautiful," reclaims an identity that is powerful, proud, and divine. The reference to being "opened and undressed" suggests a stripping away of all superficial identities and a revelation of the true self, one that is whole and holy.

The final lines of the poem express the ultimate transformation: "I have no arms or legs. / I'm all one skin like a fish. / I'm no more a woman / than Christ was a man." Here, the speaker has fully transcended gender, becoming a being that is unified, fluid, and sacred. The comparison to Christ, who is traditionally seen as a male figure but whose divinity transcends human gender, underscores the speaker's new, spiritual identity. By rejecting the constraints of being "a woman," the speaker aligns herself with the divine, achieving a state of being that is beyond physical and societal definitions.

"Consorting with Angels" is a profound and daring exploration of the rejection of traditional gender roles and the search for a higher, more authentic self. Sexton uses the imagery of dreams, angels, and biblical allusions to convey a journey from the constraints of womanhood to a state of spiritual liberation. The poem challenges the reader to consider the limitations imposed by gender and the possibilities that arise when those limitations are transcended, offering a vision of identity that is fluid, powerful, and divine.

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