Unknown Girl in the Maternity Ward
By: Maya Porco, Savannah Turner, Elena Guerra
History of Author
Anne Sexton
- Confessional Poet
- Had two children
- Depression and Bipolar
- Suicidal
- Sexually abusive parents
- Felt abandoned by mother
- Committed suicide with carbon monoxide poisoning
- Wore mother's fur coat
- Sexual relations outside marriage
- Was dependent on husband then became independent with career
- Did not have a great relationship with her children
Theme
Morals
Dependence
Letting go
The connection between a mother and a child
Shifts
- "Buts" as a key word for change in tone
- Brings her back to the reality of the situation
- Little punctuation brings a detached tone
- Sentence structure
- Changes in sound
- Dashed punctuation
Title
- "Unknown Girl"-The baby's unknown identity
- "Maternity"- The strong link between and mother and a child
- "In"- The event will always remain with the mother
Connotation and Attitude
Literary Devices:
- Imagery
- Diction
- Metaphor
- Sentence structure
Tone:
- Detached tone
- Change from congenial to hopeless and regretful
Title: Unknown Girl in The Maternity Ward
Example:
Unknown Girl:
Maternity Ward:
Uses nature to compare with the child
Paraphrase (Summarize)