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Ekphrastic Poetry: The Starry Night

An ekphrastic poem is a clear description of a scene or a work of art (Heffernan). The

poet imaginatively narrates and reflects on the acts of either a painting or sculpture

amplifying and expounding its meaning. In addition to the description of the piece of art,

such a poem mostly incorporates an investigation of how the speaker is affected by his or her

involvement with the work (Heffernan). This particular exposition will analyze Starry Night,

a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, examine Anne Sexton's poem in response to the canvas, and

discuss how the two complement each other.

Before anything, a clear description of Van Goghs painting is befitting. The painting

was created in 1889 and drawn by oil on canvas (Charles and Gogh). The night sky depicted

by the artist is swirling with spinning clouds, shimmering stars, and a bright crescent moon

(Gogh). The setting of the art is one that the audience can easily relate. The viewers are

drawn to the swirling sky. There is a fluidity that results from the spacing between the stars

and the curving contours implying a distinct technique for this particular piece of art.

In the Starry Night painting, Van Gogh chose a unique style. For instance, he

preferred lines to illustrate the night scene when silhouettes would have been used. The

contours, as a form of expression, relay emotion. During the last two years of his life, Van

Gogh had an unconventional identity and unsteady inclinations and experienced psychopathic

incidences leading many to believe that the artistes turbulent mission to beat his disease is

depicted in the duskiness of the night sky. Van Gogh painted the town with dark hues while

the windows brightly lit fostering a sense of tranquility. Further, it is serene as contrasted with
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the tense night sky. The quietness of the nighttime can practically be felt in the artistic

creation. The church spire is dominant in the town exemplifying unity among the members of

the small community. The painting has a curvy cypress tree, painted in fluid lines as the sky,

which people typically associate with grief.

The choice of color in this particular painting is of interest. Notably, the yellow hue

dominates the Starry Night (Gogh). Interestingly, this is the same case in other Van Goghs

late works (Charles and Gogh). White and yellow colors create a spiraling effect drawing

interest to the sky. The artiste's opted to use dark blue and green colors. The buildings at the

center of the art work are little squares of yellow, orange, and greens (Gogh). The orange of

the moon and the stars balances the dominance of blue in Starry Night. The artist paints the

vibrant hues of the nighttime corresponding with the actual character of the Starry Night in

which colors are utilized to represent emotions.

Van Gogh appears to be very passionate about night-time owing to how he makes a

compelling sky sit above the quiet town in his Starry Night painting. Such a scenario can be

interpreted as a contrast between life and death and the luminous stars and bright crescent

moon and a gloomy, peaceful village. The canvas can be construed as hope. It appears like

the artist wanted the audience to know that even with a darker night like the one on the

painting; it is still conceivable to see the light emanating from the house windows. Moreover,

the light from the shining stars and the moon would still provide guidance. Upon relating this

situation to Van Gogh's life, it appears as if he was finally being cured of his ailment and he

had discovered his paradise. Further, it was evident to him that he would be at peace in death

as portrayed by his choice of bold colors in the painting. The brushstrokes are unique, thick,

and very much evident and there is a possibility that Van Goghs severe attacks further

dramatized his brush work.

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Anne Sexton's poem is propelled by Van Gogh's well-known art the Starry Night. The

poem kicks off with a letter from Van Gogh to his brother Theo. There is something profound

in the quote about the writer's need for something eternal and sacred. Sexton was as much a

troubled artist as Van Gogh. She had a mental disorder for some years and later committed

suicide in 1974 after several attempts. The Starry Night painting has many movements in the

brushstrokes and turmoil in the thick billowing sky. Sexton describes the art in an engaging

manner. She says, "except where one black-haired tree slips / up like a drowned woman into

the hot sky (2-3). In fact, a closer examination of the art reveals the tree appears as if it were

made of human hair. Something is so threatening about this image and Sexton confirms this

by stating It moves. They are all alive (7).

On examination of the poem, a deeper meaning emerges. The speaker personifies the

tree by stating, one black-haired tree slips / up like a drowned woman into the hot sky (2-

3). The personification is to speak to herself as somebody roosted on the edge of life and

demise. This thought is bolstered by the juxtaposition of The town is silent

and The night boils with eleven stars (4) "The moon bulges in its orange irons / to push

children, like a god, from its eye" (9-10), suggests the rejection of life signaling the

imminence of death.

The tone is thoughtful and serious. The speaker is by all accounts pondering the

monstrosity and suddenness of death and sees it as a prevailing power. She likewise

communicates a distinct boldness and individual decision in the face of death when she

states, This is how I want to die (5-6 & 11-12). In the primary stanza, the speaker is by all

accounts mulling over the components of Van Gogh's work of art and relating them to her

circumstance with looming demise. She communicates zeal with the line "Oh starry night!"

utilizing an exclamation mark to stress the wild magnificence of the scene. By the completion

of the stanza with the basic articulation, "This is how I want to die." the speaker attests her
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desire to face demise in all its power. The persona has accepted she will embrace what is to

come. The title of the poem appears to speak to the exceptional force of death.

In spite of the fact that the poem uses symbolism from Van Gogh's sketch, it moves

past it by communicating the speaker's experience. Just like Van Goghs painting, the poem is

about confronting demise. Anne Sexton is stating that despite the fact that passing may

appear to be pitiless and sudden, it is ideal to acknowledge it dauntlessly and even hold onto

it as a force as robust as life. Anne Sextons poem in response to Vincent Van Goghs Starry

Night painting, therefore, complements each other in almost every aspect both visually and

textually. While the art may speak to particular feelings of the craftsman himself, the poem

communicates feelings roused by the art. The speaker draws meaning from the visual

components and translates them from her viewpoint.

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Works Cited

Charles, Victoria and Vincent van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh. 1st ed. [New York]: Parkstone

Press International, 2011. Print.

Gogh, Vincent. Starry Night. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1889. Print.

Heffernan, James A. W. Museum Of Words. 1st ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,

1993. Print.

Sexton, Anne. The Starry Night. Selected Poems of Anne Sexton, edited by Houghton

Mifflin Company, New York, 2000, p. 49.