Anger by Linda Pastan

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word anger, a noun physical affliction or pain; inflammatory state of any part of the body. Then defines anger, a verb

to distress, trouble, vex, hurt, wound. In Linda Pastan's poem "Anger" the word anger takes the action of a noun. The word anger stands out for two reasons, the author chooses it for the title, and the only sentence with anger gives the poem meaning. In the beginning of the poem the word "it" gets used many times and we don't know what "it" refers to until she actually states the word "anger," then we realize the "it" referred to earlier means anger.

She only uses the word "anger" once, "You whose anger is a pet dog" (pg717, line12). She chooses to finally use the word "anger" here to show the reader that the person she refers to and her ways of dealing with anger differ. The magnitude of her anger causes her to remain secretive, though she wants to tell him she knows it will only make things worse. The serious thing about her anger remains that we don't know what causes these feelings. We only know what she states, "But mine is a rabid thing, sharpening its teeth on my very bones, and I will never let it go." (pg717, lines14-16) This is important for two reasons, first, it is the point at which we see how the author views her anger and to what subjective nature it is relevant. Second, we come to know that her anger is also an adversary of hers, because something good, something friendly would not "sharpen its teeth" on your bones.

Pastan knows releasing her anger or physical pain she will cause more problems, hence becoming even angrier. She can't express her anger because the "other" she talks of causes her anger. Telling the "other" will only emotionally anger both of them. That's why Pastan ends her poem with, "I will never let it go" (pg 717, line16). So despite its antagonistic nature, Pastan sees her anger as something she needs. Also, it seems that she sees her anger as superior to the "other" person she speaks to. It is ironic that something harmful, even possibly fatal to a person would be held on to with such love and disregard. The anger she holds in this cage is seen by the reader as a problem due to the allusion. The cage, in which she holds her anger, implies a certain sense of imprisonment.