An evaluation of Sylvia Plath`s poetry concerning pregnancy and motherhood
In evaluating Sylvia Plath`s poetry concerning pregnancy and motherhood to what extent do you believe the attitudes and feelings expressed in her imagery are representative of mothers generally. Plath`s poems regarding pregnancy and motherhood vary hugely in terms of the sentiment expressed, ranging from maternal love to resentment. This could be explained as a symptom of her bipolar disorder, but equally could also be a natural reaction to a daunting process. In Morning Song Plath appears to show mixed emotions regarding her child, with the ambiguous title being a homonym as well as a metaphor, possibly referring to the morning as the bright beginning of her child`s life or to the process Plath is undergoing, mourning the loss of her freedom. The first stanza appears to show Plath`s love for the child, 'Love set you going,' and also how she views the child as something precious and her giving birth as a natural and inevitable process, 'fat gold watch...took its place among the elements.' She may be unsure of this love however, as the poetic synaesthesia of, 'your bald cry' shows the confusion of audible and visual senses, and this could represent Plath`s sense of love for the child interacting with the fear she showed before the birth in The Manor Garden, 'a difficult borning.' This confusion is probably rather typical of a new mother, as the birth of a child would signify
The poem Two Sisters of Persephone by Sylvia Plath is a truly remarkable piece that I greatly enjoyed reading. This piece is filled with numerous symbols, allegories, and images that stand out
Commentary on 'Two Sisters of Persephone' The poem 'Two Sisters of Persephone' by Sylvia Plath is a truly remarkable piece that I greatly enjoyed reading. This piece is filled with numerous symbols, allegories, and images that stand out to the reader and they become more vivid each time you look deeper and deeper into the piece. In literal terms, the poem is about two girls that lead complete opposite lives and have different duties to fulfill. The poem goes on describing what they do and the settings of where they perform their rightful tasks. What is rather interesting about the poem is that we are tricked into believing the first sister leads the cold, bitter life. Plath uses words with negative connotation to give the character a stressed out and hopeless feel. She ties in the thoughts of problems, darkness, and un-fruitful work to the character of the first sister. The poem then suddenly twists into a brighter and warmer mood when Plath starts talking about the second sister. At first sight, the words trick us into believing she is truly happy and peaceful. Words like 'lulled', and 'bright air', bring a positive connotation to the second sister. When we look at the words carefully, we see that she truly isn't really that happy. When Plath says she was lulled near a bed of poppies, we get the thought that she may be drugged, since poppies are an opiate. This
Analysis of "The Applicant" by Sylvia Plath
Applicant analysis At first, a reader might think the title 'The Applicant' refers to a job applicant. Perhaps one will visualize a job interview scenario in which the applicant is sitting across the desk from someone who expects her to sell herself as a good candidate for the role. Upon further reading, it seems that the role being applied for is that of a wife-and that the applicant is not being offered any chance to speak for herself; it is more as if this role is being sold to her or told to her, as if she has little choice in the matter-or perhaps the speaker of the poem is meant to be a version of the applicant herself, in a snide attempt to talk herself into acquiescing to a role that does not suit her. Another way to read this poem is that the applicant is a man applying to receive a wife as if a wife is some kind of a product-and it almost seems as if the voice of the poem is trying to talk this man into accepting a defective product; trying to convince him that a defective wife/product is better than no wife/product, especially in the second to last line of the piece, in which it is flat out stated to be a 'last resort'. Substantial conflict related to how to respond to and fit into the domestic sphere is a recurring issue in Plath's writing, suggesting this was an issue she struggled with in her real life. A small part of her seemed to buy into and even desire a
'The Power of Plath's Imagery comes from her surprising, often controversial imagery' How far do you agree with this statement?
‘The Power of Plath’s poetry comes from the surprising, often controversial imagery’ ‘Daddy’ and ‘Hawk Roosting’ with ‘The Bee Meeting’ and ‘The Tender Place’ * Daddy and Hawk Roosting both share the same sense of power and violence. * They are dominant and are to be feared and revered as ‘gods’ * The use of stark and blunt imagery shown through ‘the boot in the face’ speaks volumes about the brutality and cruelty shown by the father figure. Also in Hawk Roosting ‘My manners are tearing off heads’ shows through a different light the same strand of aggression and viciousness. Plath * Strength and power: 'A man in black with a Meinkampf look' * Violent image: 'There is a stake in your fat black heart' /disturbing and graphic Hughes * Control: 'I kill where I please because it is all mine' * Power: Hooked head and hooked feet' * Link: ' Now I hold Creation in my foot' / no longer feet, lost the plural, relates to amputation in Daddy and autobiographical. The power of Plath's poetry comes from her surprising, often controversial use of imagery.' Plath shows her surprising and often controversial imagery through the remarkable art of taking inanimate, lifeless objects and using them to describe emotion and personal suffering. Her choice of language elicits an effect which not only disturbs but forces the reader into a deep state of
Explore The Way Plath Presents Nature and The Natural World In The Poem "Tulips".
Explore The Way Plath Presents Nature and The Natural World In The Poem Tulips: At the very start of the poem Sylvia tends to express the fact that nature is too overwhelming ‘the tulips are too excitable’ by using personification. The tulips are out of place and do not suit the atmosphere. She relates them with children because they, like children are often too excitable which is ironic because she just had a miscarriage. She also relates them too herself, because they, like her are too out of place. She sees them as a threat, the tulips are almost heart shaped, reminding her of life. In the second paragraph ‘impossible to tell how many there are’ she sees this as being positive because they are identity-less, just as she is. As we can see so far in the first and second paragraph she is trying to detach herself ‘I have given my name and my day-clothes up to the nurses’ this shows us that she has given up, she has detached herself from her family and life. Plath makes out that she is meaningless and lifeless ‘my body is like a pebble to them’ she describes herself as an object, a cold stone which is worthless and means nothing to no one, something that isn’t alive.The contrast of personal pronouns in the third paragraph ‘they’ emphasises that she is passive as she is throughout the whole poem. In the 5th stanza Plath tells us ‘I didn’t want any
Sylvia Plath, in the poems, Daddy and Lady Lazarus displays the different relationships of a woman in her life, with various men, such as father and husband, in order for the poems to have universal significance.
Confessional Poetry Do these poems have universal significance? Explain Sylvia Plath is one of the famous poet, who writes confessional poetry by incorporating her traumatic experiences in her poem. Her poems, such as "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus", which explore the women's relationships with men in general without any additions of any specific cultural values, therefore, the poems provide a universal definition and universal significance. Also the poems display the need for women to liberate themselves from repressive, which also has universal significance. Sylvia Plath, in the poems, "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" displays the different relationships of a woman in her life, with various men, such as father and husband, in order for the poems to have universal significance. She uses metaphors and symbolism to shows the different types of relationships, women share with different men and how they impact their lives. An example of this is seen in "Daddy", where she writes "Every woman adores a Fascist", which display women as victims of men. Though the use of this metaphor, it is symbolised that women are the victims of Nazi men and they are presented as willing victims, therefore raising the question of how much women's victimisation is their fault. Similarly, "Lady Lazarus" conveys the message of death, resurrection and defeating enemies, as seen through the use of, "Out of the
Sylvia Plath's presentation of parent-child relationships
Sylvia Plaths presentation of parent-child relationships Plath deals with the themes she chooses to write about, such as death, suicide and depression, in a very interesting fashion. However, out of all her themes, the one that is the most interesting is her presentation of relationships between parents and children. The way in which she deals with this theme is very different to her other poetry. She breaks many of the rules that were laid down by poets before her, such as the romantics. These series of poets stressed the idea of family and the importance of parents to children and vice versa. As a result, the vast majority of poets that wrote about these relationships thereafter presented them in a very idealistic manner, implying family harmony and lack of conflict. Therefore, when Plath started to write about family relationships in a decidedly unromantic and disturbing style, some were shocked. Instead of her poems being about the healthiness of relationships between parents and children, they are about the darker, less talked about side. It is mainly due to this difference between her and some previous presentations of parent-child relationships that makes her poetry tackling the subject interesting. As with most of Plath's other material, her method of dealing with this theme is by no means straightforward. This is shown in the fact that there are two types of
Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath.
Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath Within the poem "Blackberrying" by Sylvia Plath, she positions herself as the lonely walker and speaker, self-consciously communicating with and reacting to nature yet all the while assuming that at her worst this may cause her immediate surroundings to justifiably consume her (by the overwhelming sea ) and that at best her surroundings are malciously indifferent. The theme of "Blackberrying," on the surface at least , is of "place." Aside from this theme of "place" and some regularity of structure there are other panoramic factors in this poem. Most striking is the underlying sense of threat and the images of willing death which are anticipated. Plath uses imagery, metaphor, simile and other many elements of poetry in this poem. The imagery is used mostly in the poem to stimulate our senses and recall our imaginations and experiences. The progress of the walk in "Blackberrying" does not describe the journey's outset, yet there is a defined middle and end. There is a definitive purpose namely to relish in and gather blackberries. The three nine-line stanzas within the work fulfil three detached purposes-the first to describe the berries and the luscious sensations experienced in their harvest; the second to define the environment and to point to failings which can exist when the berries' become overdeveloped;
Investigation Into The Theme of Entrapment in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Investigation Into The Theme of Entrapment in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932 to Austrian parents. She studied at the prestigious Smith College with a scholarship and in 1955 she went to Cambridge University where she met and later married Ted Hughes. Plaths life was one of success, and intense ambition and perfectionism. In an early journal entry, aged 16, she described herself as 'The girl who would be God'. Her desire to be a perfect writer and a perfect woman is set however in her understanding of the constraints placed on women in the 50's. The early death of her father when she was just 8, and the combination of fear and adoration she felt towards him had an immense and lasting effect on her life, and subsequently he appears as a major theme in both her poetry and prose works. The Bell Jar was first released in England in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. It received lukewarm reviews with most critics highlighting the personal yet detached voice of novel. An anonymous review stated 'it read so much like the truth that it is hard to disassociate her from Esther Greenwood, the 'I' of the story, but she had the gift of being able to feel and yet to watch herself: she can feel the desolation and yet relate this to the landscape of everyday life'. This shows how the novel was seen to be autobiographical
In the poem 'A Poem should not mean but be' the poet causes the reader to question themselves over how they read a poem, how they see it.
Poem appreciation - A Poem should not mean but be In the poem 'A Poem should not mean but be' the poet causes the reader to question themselves over how they read a poem, how they see it. 'A Poem should not mean but be' the Poet here from the title is saying a poem should not be looked upon by people as just words on paper, seeing them as empty and meaningless, but experience the feeling and emotion that has been expressed in poems. A poem is a verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme. This is what the Poet is trying to get across to the reader of this poem 'Does it work when the word happiness is pronounced?' here right from the start of the poem the Poet asks the question 'Does it work when the word happiness is pronounced?' he is putting this question to the audience forcing them to think does it make it happen?, does it bring it to life?, happiness?. In this quote from the poem the Poet is asking the reader are they really feeling the feeling and emotion which is being expressed in poems when they read them rather than just seeing the words. 'Never is the happiness because orgasm and orgasm are worlds apart', in this quote from the Poet it shows him
