Who is Anne Sexton as poetic speaker from The Complete Poems and what is their importance? The_Complete_Poems English & Literature Anne Sexton as poetic speaker | The Complete Poems

The vast majority of Sexton's poems are written in the first person, and so much of her work is autobiographical. Therefore, the main character in The Complete Poems is the speaker, which can usually be understood as representing Sexton, herself. This is a significant departure from so much of the poetry that preceded Sexton's time, and it is largely for this reason that she is labeled a confessional poet. If it was the author's goal to plumb the depths of her soul in search of poetic art, then it stands to reason that she would cast herself as the central figure in her work. Sexton does occasionally employ traditional literary characterization, most notably the fairy tale characters of Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, etc. in Transformations, although these usually represent various elements of the author's own psyche.