Explain the
opening stanza of “Hansel and Gretel.” Why does Sexton choose to retell this
story?
The opening stanza is the only part of
the poem which is in the first person point of view. That person would seem be
the witch from the story of “Hansel and Gretel,” although it is uncertain because
the stanza opens up with, “Little plum said the mother to her son,” and the
witch as far as we know doesn’t have any children of her own. Regardless Sexton
uses a confession-like style of writing to allow the reader to see the inside
thoughts of the mother. Heavily dowsed in the grotesque, it foreshadows the
story to come. Sexton might have included this stanza as her personal
connection to the witch in the story, almost as if exploring her own sanity (or
lack thereof) while the reader follows along. Another explanation may be that
Sexton included this stanza to expand what the reader knows about the
cannibalistic “mother”.
Good work, Mike! The persona of the opening is definitely that of a parent . . . How many times have you heard someone say of a child, "Oh, he or she is so cute, I could eat them up!" Likewise, why do we call people "sugar" or "honey"? Sexton is definitely calling attention to the fears of a cannibalistic mother, but she is also calling attention to our own use of language and nicknames. She is defamiliarizing our use of these food terms of endearment . . .
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