Form and Meter
A poem about a woman who exists outsides the boundaries of "normal" life? Why in the world should that have regularized form or meter? Exactly. That's what we thought, too.In a lot of ways, this po...
Speaker
Our speaker doesn't ever give us her name – but that doesn't mean that she's "every woman." In fact, she's anything but a Jane Doe. She's an outsider, a social misfit – and a defiant on...
Setting
We know that there are some links to our everyday existence in this poem, but our speaker positions herself as an outsider looking in. When everyone else is hunkered down in their neat little house...
Sound Check
This is one plain speakin' poem, folks. If you're looking for hysterical rants about the unfairness of life or elaborate philosophical reflections on the role of women in the modern world, you migh...
What's Up With the Title?
"Her Kind" is just a repetition of the poem's refrain, right? Well, yes. And also not exactly. For starters, the poem's title doesn't exactly mimic the poem's favorite line. It leaves out the first...
Calling Card
Anne Sexton's known as a confessional poet for good reason: she's got no problem laying her life and her emotions on the line for her readers. Heck, just about every line in this poem includes an "...
Tough-O-Meter
Nice, easy language and soothing rhymes make this poem a walk in the park. Heck, Sexton even repeats the syntax of stanza one in stanzas two and three! Besides a few oblique (and maybe obscure) ref...
Brain Snacks
Sex Rating
OK, so there are some bare arms in this poem. But unless a little elbow turns you on, this poem is pretty tame. And maybe that's intentional. After all, if you count up all the sexy witch costumes...
Shout Outs
Witches! (line 1)The Inquisition (line 19)