Anne Sexton poem The Starry Night reflects the Vincent von Gogh's painting The Starry Night very well. If one was to do a little research into the lives of the writer and the artist they would find that they were kind of in the same path in life when they did these two works. Sexton mood in the poem matches the one in the painting. The two works have a lot in common and that could be because of the creator's lifestyle.
Van Gogh painting "The Starry Night was completed near the mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13 months before Van Gogh's death" (online 1) and Sexton were depressed most of the time. Though there is not much information on Van Gogh's life, we can see form Sexton's life why she was inspired by this painting. She had tried to commit suicide a number of times because she was obviously not happy with her life. She was searching for comfort and when she could not find it in her parents she found it in her aunt who died later on and that made her more depressed. She was not happy in her marriage and had lots of affairs, and seeing therapist who encouraged her to continuing writhing. During her life she had tried to committed suicide on a number of ocasions and was finally successful in the end. .
In the poem she is viewing death as a serpent that swallows up the stars, she states that's how she wants to die, for the life to just be sucked up with no cry. (1401). She was so depressed with life that she, judging from the poem, wants to disappear form everything. She dose not want to exist anymore. Wants to die a quiet and fast death. The painting it self is very depressing, but in a sense it's kind of restful. The way that its restful is the little houses in the village they seem in a way really cozy and peaceful, while the sky is at war with it self. The one tree that's there in the front is very dreary and dead and that makes it depressing. The poem is also depressing a peaceful in a sense too.
