¶ … Anne Sexton's "Her Kind"

The syntax of this poem, with the constant repetition of "I" at the beginning of each clause, affects the tone of the poem by making it sound almost like a chant, or a call to action. It also has the affect of forcing identification with the elements of the poem; the speaker's repeated use of "I" before listing several objects, events, and actions has the effect of connecting the reader to these elements, as well. The syntax continues to follow a pattern after each use of "I," listing first another identifying noun clause before the verb clause, making the figure of the speaker stronger than the details of the poem.

The diction of the poem is also a highly contributive factor of the tone. In the first stanza, words like "possessed" and "haunting" create a sense of spookiness that also portrays the continuing and eternal aspect of womanhood that Sexton explores in the poem. The second stanza makes a great use of sibilance with repeated "s's in the words "skillets," "Shelves," "silks," and "suppers," again playing with the idea of evil as the repeated "s's form a hiss like that of a serpent. Throughout the poem, the use of past tense active verbs places the poem in a strange sort of disconnected yet impassioned context, reinforcing the idea that the poem is a chant of sorts. This is most apparent, of course, in the repeated "I have been her kind."

There is perhaps no element in the poem that contributes to the tone more than the imagery. This changes significantly from stanza to stanza, and so is also the main organizational criteria of the poem. The imagery moves from spooky and evil in the first stanza to a more benign and warm but still secretive magic in the second, with pictures of "worms and elves," and resolves in the open light of a cart ride in the third stanza, revealing woman finally in her martyred freedom.