Hannah's Essay

Hannah Staley
Mr. Salsich
English 9
8 April 2009

Discovering “Courage”
An essay on a main theme in a poem and how the poem relates to my life


I have read the poem “Courage” by Anne Sexton over a couple of times this week and have come to notice that discovery seems to be a key theme that we can all relate to. I have realized that if we reread the poem over we can really start to understand what the author is trying to get across. We can also start to piece together how this poem can connect to yourself and what impact it has on you.

The main theme in the poem “Courage” is discovery. In the first stanza everything seems to revolve around discovering. From “the child’s first step” to “the first time you rode a bike.” In this stanza Ms. Sexton was very good at getting her point across about how growing up is all about discovering yourself and the world that surrounds you. As for looking at this poem as a whole, you can see that the poem is based around the concept of discovering but in many different ways. Obviously, she mentions how growing up forces you to try new things, but also growing up in age is a new discovery. She talks about the younger years in the first two stanzas and then gradually switches to the middle ages and eventually ends the poem with the thought of dying gracefully. Finally, Ms. Sexton talks about discovering within different people. In the second stanza she talks about friends and how they can help you in the toughest of times. She seems to be pointing out that even if you didn’t think they would help you, they would because they do it out of the pure goodness of their heart and that is something you have discovered. Discovery has played a key role in this poem, especially since you are walking through the stages of life. Ms. Sexton got her point across very accurately and discovery as a theme makes perfect sense.

There isn’t much I can relate to in this poem other than I have taken my first steps and learned how to ride a bike. But if I had to choose, there is one thing that does relate to me and that’s simplicity. This poem is simply just like my life at times. In my life, I like to take things as they come and not be rushed and that’s the vibe (FAST) I get once reading this poem. I guess you could say Ms. Sexton and I like to be “as simple as shaving soap.” Also, when it comes to complex situations Ms. Sexton and I have a simple approach. For example, Ms. Sexton doesn’t make growing up and dying a big deal. I like this because we all must grow up and we all must die at some point. Lastly, I can relate to this poem through the diction. Recently in class we have read some poems that have either been difficult to understand or had dense (FAST) words and I didn’t really like those poems. I find that by using simple diction like Ms. Sexton, the poem is more interesting and fun to analyze. Whether it’s talking about simplicity or approaching different situations or the diction of the poem or how it relates to you personally (polysyndeton), “Courage” by Ms. Anne Sexton, I can relate and that’s a cool thing.

Simplicity can be everywhere if you think about it, and that’s why it’s so complex (anithesis and loose sentence). For example, your homework can be simple, but does that mean you really understand it? “Courage” has brought so many thoughts to my head that I never thought I would think about before like how do you really approach death? Do you just “stride” out? I really think that this poem has opened a whole new level of understanding for me and I’m appreciative of that.