Commentary on "Arrival of the bee box" by Sylvia Plath.

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English Commentary

Arrival of the Bee Box

The arrival of the bee box, is a poem written by Sylvia Plath, where the metaphoric comparison of a bee box is used to illustrate her state of mind and appearance.  Through the progression of the poem it is evident that she does not feel at peace, and is struggling to achieve her peace of mind. Her inner turmoil, caused by the bees, contrasts with what she perceives herself to be. This poem's main focus is on the arrival of the Bee Box. This Bee Box can be interpreted as a metaphor for two things. One, that it represents the captivity of the black slave trade which was an issue in Sylvia Plath's day. Two, that the Bee Box represents the suppressed emotions and feelings of the poet, possibly an allusion to her growing madness in the final years of her life. However, we must understand that these two different interpretations are highlighted in different parts of this passage.

We are immediately introduced to the bee box in the first stanza of the poem.  She seems to claim ownership over the box as she "ordered this, this clean wood box". Showing that she claims responsibility over the arrival of the box, and this arrival of the box is not a mere coincidence. If we take this bee box to be her appearance, we can see how she has made a conscious effort to hide what she is really feeling. To demonstrate the unambiguous reality of the box she describes it is as being "square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift”. This implies that now this fake appearance has become a reality for the people around her and she is afraid that she may not be able to change it any longer and to thus show her real self. Plath then tries to illustrate the box to us by the use of metaphors. She states that it could be the "coffin of a midget or a square baby". Both these metaphors are quite grotesque and suggest that she does not like the box, or what she shows herself to be, after all. She soon discards these metaphors however for she can hear a "din in it". This phrase creates a humming sound which reflects the sound made by the bees. This creates contrast between the theme of death which surround the box, or Plath, and the confusion which takes place inside her.

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She seems to claim ownership over the box as she "ordered this, this clean wood box". Showing that she claims responsibility over the arrival of the box, and this arrival of the box is not a mere coincidence. The use of the word "clean" represents the initial visual innocence of this wooden box, but as mentioned later on the poem, this is merely a façade and its contents are extremely volatile. The box is described to be as "square as a chair", and "wooden", the imagery of the chair represents the box to be direct, and honest.

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