Review of "Wild Bees" by Baxter

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In his poem “Wild Bees” James K. Baxter portrays the perpetual struggle of human nature for good or evil. HE does so by painting a scene of, although at first glance normal, vicious violation of a “city”, a bee hive. By taking this simplistic event and coupling it with allusions and grotesque imagery, Baxter displays the way human nature can self-reproach but still always be on the edge of trespassing a line integrity.

The narrator attributes the bees a sense of candor, amplifying it further by a contrasting comparison of him being despicable. This effect is reached by Baxter with an allusion and metaphor for the boat being “ a safe Ophelia drifting” (2). By referring to a crazed character the narrator is also referring to the deed he is planning. He himself believes it be not worthy. The bees on the other hand seem to be cool headed “in passionless industry” (5). This metaphor serves to show that what the bees are doing is “legal” due to a very specific diction and they are also not overwhelmed  thus their actions are not rush and mindless. This contrast is the first one that the narrator tells the reader about, however there are many more defects with which the narrator associates himself.

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The bees are portrayed as royalty with “their gauze wings a-glitter” and “their gold” (4)(24). This imagery brings the reader a sense of blue blood and dignity that the bees possess. Yet the narrator describes himself as being “gloved and masked to the eyes” (9) and “plundering [desperado]” (9) as well as describing the honey as “plunder” (23). This concealment hints to the hidden identity, and the repetition of the word plunder signifies the fact that the narrator feels like a thief doing his surreptitious job. By using these devices and contrasting the bees and the narrator Baxter evokes feeling ...

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