Gender, Body, and Feminine Performance
Edna St. Vincent Millay's Impact on Anne Sexton
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3946569 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Artemis Michailidou (0000-0002-7492-6055, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 78 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 117-140 |
| Publication date | 2004-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Feminist Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-7789 • E-ISSN: 1466-4380 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400150 |
| OpenAlex | W2032125402 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
This paper will discuss Edna Millay's influence on Anne Sexton, with particular reference to issues such as gender politics, femininity, performativity, and the female body. Through close comparative readings of some of the two women's most representative poems, I analyze, firstly, how Millay's outspokenness and daring self-presentation as a woman writer facilitated Sexton's handling of material that was previously considered unacceptable for poetry and, secondly, how Sexton expanded the scope of women's writing in a manner that paid tribute to the earlier poet's innovation. My paper maintains that Millay's repeated attempts to explore gender and interrogate the concept of 'authentic' femininity anticipated Sexton's overtly feminist works. Ultimately, I am arguing that, despite the literary climate of the 1960s (which urged the rejection of poets like Mi May) and despite her own ambiguous feelings for the earlier poet, Sexton eventually recovered Mil lay as an important literary predecessor for her generation, consistently imitated her artistic posturing, performance strategies, and self-presentation, and finally acknowledged her unique contribution to women's writing
Art · Art history · Feeling · Femininity · Feminism · Human sexuality · Literature · Masculinity · Patriarchy · Performativity · Poetry · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics) · Sociology · Tribute · Artistic and Creative Research · Gender Studies · Law · Poetry Analysis and Criticism · Psychology · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2016 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |