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Themes in Plaths poetry

Motherhood:

Positive portrayal of motherhood Youre/Morning Song (although thispoem does present a somewhat ambiguous perspective, lots of metaphorsand similes used to describe babies .Protectiveness Nick and the Candlestick/ Marys Song/Morning Song/ByCandlelightUncertainty In the Manor Garden (apprehension about difficult borning),Maudlin( a poem about periods! And how fertility brings physical discomfort)Barrenness / infertility Moon and the yew tree/Munich Mannequins/spinsterMiscarriage TulipsNegative portrayal of motherhood Tulips/Lesbos/Edge/Ariel extendedmetaphor of children as hooks is present in these poems, think about the

image of vampires here and the effect these two combined have on Plath.The dead children in Edge is v.creepy and in Ariel Plaths speaker is runningfrom a childs cry

Wife/domesticity:

Lesbos/Babysitting/Marys Song/The Bee Meeting/A Birthday Present/Daddy all pretty mush negative unless you consider the positive portrayal ofmotherhood/an appearance

Parents:

Negative portrayal of the impact of the parents

Moon = mother and the statues esp. Virgin Mary. in Marys song and Moonand the Yew TeeFather Little Fugue/Finistierre/Daddy/Full Fathom Five/Suicide off EggRock/

Life and Death

Think about symbolism of colours/flowers and the seasons in just about everypoem she has written!Edge/Ariel/tulips/the poppy poems/the stones/death & co/cut/full fathomfive/suicide off egg rock/daddy/Marys song the list is pretty muchexhaustive. Consider imagery linked with the holocaust/persecution etc aswell

Madness/healing: (a desire for rebirth etc)The Stones/Tulips/edge/resolve/cut/miss drake/edge/Ariel

Nature

Moon and Yew tree/elm/among the narcissi/tulips/poppy poems/sheep infog/winter trees/the bee meeting/suicide off egg rock

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Look at how she sees nature as destructive. How its warped in her mindSeascapes are important here think about Otto Plaths fateNo comfort/answers in the natural world

The self : (her perception of herself)

The Bee meeting/Facelift/Mirror/The Munich mannequins/thestones//maudlin/tulips/lesbos/a birthday present/Ariel/edgeThink about existential narcissism/why shes got issues with herappearance/the rivalry for Ted Hughes/ the impact of her parents onher/battling for possession of herself-who she is. Also consider her rejection ofthe natural and materialistic world and the healing world too.

Myths/Imagery/allusions

VampirismReligious allusion ascension/virgin Mary /fish/statues/graveyards

Godiva in ArielGreek myths Cleopatra, medusa/Electra(the Electra complex in Daddy)atlasMoonAlso Shakespeare full fathom five/Ariel

FlowersThreatening personification tulips/poppy poemsSometimes benign threatening but ultimately harmless among the narcissiRoses the mind/sanity the stones/also maternal affection in morning songLink to colour red and white. Flowers a symbol of life

ColourRed: Life/fertility/pain/vulnerability usually a positive colour can alsosymbolise rebirthRuby - nick in Nick and the Candlestick preciousTulips/poppies threatening life/vitality, but comfortingBlood Maudlin and Cut thrilled by sign of own vitalityIn Ariel the red sun of the morning links to rebirth

Black death and foreboding, masculine colour associated with the yew treeand Germans, also symbolises mental and physical torture.

WhiteSymbol of purity and innocence, virginity and sacrificeAlso represents death/perfection (see edge)Ice/wintry references usually link todeath/sterility/barrenness/numbness/stasis an inability to move physically oremotionally,

Blue

Motherhood- usually positive but is also the colour of the sea which has

negative connotations in Plaths poems, it can convey fragility and pain and

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can be seen as threatening see Among the narcissi/an appearance/the seapoems etc

Green fertility and endurance, some sense of protection and hope, but is aweak not often referred to colour see the green stars in Nick and the

Candlestick