Please read for class:
Anne Sexton, "Courage" (1975)
Questions to consider before class:
Who are you, and what brings you to the PCVI? Everyone will introduce themselves in class tonight.
In her Poem, Ann Sexton contrasts love and courage in the following lines:
"If your buddy saved you
and died himself in so doing,
then his courage was not courage,
it was love; love as simple as shaving soap"
Why does she contrast them by saying that "his courage was not courage"? Why can't someone do something out of love AND courage for Sexton? And do you agree or disagree with her idea?
The second, third, and fourth stanza all start with the word "later." By doing this, Sexton suggests a linearity or development to courage. Does this mean courage is like education? If so, according to Sexton's poem, how do we educate ourselves in the art of courage?