15 pages • 30 minutes read
The Expatriates
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Her Kind” by Anne Sexton
Also published in her debut collection To Bedlam and Part Way Back (1960), “Her Kind” has significant popular appeal. Published against the advice of her mentor, the poem is a raw and personal feminist rallying cry against the social structure of the 1950s housewife. More militant and thematically more complex than “The Expatriates,” “Her Kind” is a one example of the range of Sexton’s Confessional poetics.
“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath is another legendary woman poet of Confessionalism. Like Sexton, she attended poetry workshops with Robert Lowell and lived with mental illness. She also wrote intimately about the dark underside of the 1950s housewife’s experience, and she also committed suicide at a young age. “Daddy” is one of her most famous poems, providing a good example of Plath’s image-forward poetry, while also showcasing the intimate tone that makes her poetry emblematic of the Confessional movement.
“The Ballad of the Lonely Masturbator” by Anne Sexton
This poem by Sexton, written later in her career, illustrates her disregard for social norms of the time. The poem discusses female masturbation, a taboo topic, emphasizing themes of sadness and loneliness. Similar to “The Expatriates,” the “Ballad” demonstrates the incisive, personal tone of Sexton’s work.
Further Literary Resources
Anne Sexton: A Biography by Diane Middlebrook (1992)
This biography offers a comprehensive and balanced view of the poet’s life and career. Middlebrook balances the dramatic elements of Sexton’s life with details of the poet’s driven, hardworking nature and her literary career.
The Wounded Surgeon: Confession and Transformation in Six American Poets by Adam Kirsch (2005)
Kirsch’s touchstone text provides a thorough analysis of Confessional poetry—both the movement and the features of its poems. He pushes back against critics of the movement who see Confessional poets as overly reliant on the dramatic details of their personal lives. Instead, Kirsch emphasizes the formal complexity and poetic innovation of the major Confessional poets, including Anne Sexton.
Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to my Mother, Anne Sexton by Linda Gray Sexton (1994)
This important text showcases the hidden side of Anne Sexton from the point of view of her daughter. Linda, who was 21 when her mother committed suicide, describes the complex figure of her mother and discusses the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother. With these personal confessions of her own, Sexton seeks to make peace with her tumultuous upbringing and her poet mother.
Listen to Poem
The Poetry Foundation has provided a digital reproduction of the archival recordings of Sexton reading her work in Boston in 1960. This recording is notable for its minor deviations from the final version of “The Expatriates.”
Unlock all 15 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 9,150+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
