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Courage by Anne Sexton
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Courage
by Anne Sexton
Courage can be small
Courage can be seen in the everyday little things of life. A baby's first step, or when someone called you bad things and you didn't fight back for example is courage everyone has from time to time.
Courage is small and humble, but it keeps us fighting through hard times.
The poem Courage
It is the small things we see it.
The child's first step,
as awesome as an earthquake
The first time you rode a bike,
wallowing up the sidewalk.
The first spanking when your heart
went on a journey all alone.
When they called you crybaby
or poor or fatty or crazy
and made you into an alien,
you drank their acid
and concealed it.
Later,
if you faced the death of bombs and bullets
you did not do it with a banner,
you did it with only a hat to
cover your heart.
You did not fondle the weakness inside you
though it was there.
Your courage was a small coal
that kept you swallowing.
If your buddy saved you
and died himself in so doing,
then his courage was not courage,
it was love; love as simple as shaving soap.
Later,
if you have endured a great despair,
then you did it alone,
getting a transfusion from the fire,
picking the scabs off your heart,
then wringing it out like a sock.
Next, my kinsman, you powered your sorrow,
you gave it a back rub
and then you covered it with a blanket
and after it had slept a while
it woke to the wings of the roses
and was transformed.
Later,
when you face old age and its natural conclusion
your courage will still be shown in the little ways,
each spring will be a sword you'll sharpen,
those you love will live in a fever of love,
and you'll bargain with the calender
and at the last moment
when death opens the back door
you'll put on your carpet slippers
and stride out.
What is the meaning of this poem?
The meaning of this poem is that courage can be shown in little ways and in all times of life.
Choose one simile or metaphor. explain how your example demonstrates courage.
"you'll put on your carpet slippers and stride out," this is an example of courage because it is explaining death is coming, people will be courageous as they face it.
Where does the poem break the sentences to each stanza?
Why does she format her work this way?
The sentences contrast each other. Anne Sexton is trying to show the types of courage and then the outcome of each courageous act. This format deepens understanding of courage, the topic of her poem.
What is the tone of this poem?
The tone of this poem is encouraging. It encourages us to be courageous and humble.