Did the poet Anne Sexton plan her entire death out before committing suicide?

Question

I have recently come across some of Ms. Sexton's brilliant work. A poet myself I often search for inspiration from the great many literate minds. She was phenomenal, but when I read about her on wikipedia it stated she had commented on her poems a previous year to her actual suicide, to not have her poems published until she was gone. I can't find to much of anything else. But it seems to me, that she had it all planned out step by step. Is this true or even close? Thanks

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

i don't think that anybody really knows. she wrote about suidicdie a lot but that's not concrete evidence that she had her death planned.

Answer 2

I found this question while researching Anne Sexton's suicide for a research paper I am writing, so I know a thing or two about her.

The answer is, quite simply, yes. She had always written about suicide and had attempted it once before. Suicide was always on her mind.

She gave her last book, The Awful Rowing Towards God, to her publisher with the specific instructions not to publish until she died. She waited until after she had made all the appearances she was scheduled to make.

Also, she wanted to die like her good friend Plath, without disfiguration. She thought Hemingway was extremely courageous but did not want to go via bullet in mouth.

I'd site my source but I am currently trying to find it again.

So the answer is, yes. It was planned very well and she even waited until all her business was in order before she went.

Answer 3

I'm not entirely sure. I researched it a bit, but the sites just say that she put on her mother's old fur coat and locked herself in the garage. She then started her car and she commited suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. She had been battling depression.

I think it must of been planned in a short amount of time (a few days, maybe?), or possibly even for years.

Hope I helped!

Hannie!

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Sexton…
http://www.uta.edu/english/tim/poetry/as…

Answer 4

In the book Girl, Interrupted, Keysen said that "suicide is murder. pre-meditated murder." Pre-meditated murder is even a redundancy - all murders are planned. But, yes, suicide is murder. Therefore, all suicides are planned. And it really doesn't matter how Sexton died. The poems live. :)