In "In Plaster," Sylvia Plath uses vivid imagery and metaphor to explore themes of physical and emotional confinement, as well as the complexities of the maternal experience.
The poem begins with the speaker being encased in a plaster cast, which immediately evokes a sense of confinement and restriction. This physical restriction is further emphasized through the use of words like "strapped" and "cramped," which suggest a sense of tightness and discomfort. This plaster cast can be seen as a metaphor for the various forms of confinement that women often face in society, whether it be through social expectations, gender roles, or other forms of oppression.
The speaker's confinement is further highlighted through the use of imagery that suggests a sense of entrapment and suffocation. The speaker describes the plaster cast as a "cocoon," which is traditionally associated with transformation and rebirth, but in this case, it serves as a symbol of the speaker's inability to move or change her circumstances. The use of the word "white," which is often associated with purity and innocence, also suggests that the speaker is trapped in a state of arrested development or stagnation.
As the poem progresses, Plath explores the theme of motherhood and the complexities of the maternal experience. The speaker describes the unborn baby inside her as a "tight-coiled spring," which suggests a sense of potential and energy, but also hints at the potential dangers and responsibilities that come with motherhood. The speaker also reflects on the ways in which motherhood can be both a source of joy and a source of burden, stating that "this is the hardest work I have ever done."
Overall, "In Plaster" is a powerful and poignant exploration of physical and emotional confinement and the complexities of the maternal experience. Through vivid imagery and metaphor, Plath effectively conveys the sense of entrapment and suffocation that can come with these experiences, while also acknowledging the joys and challenges that they bring.
Sylvia Plath: Poems Essay
When I hit her she held still, like a true pacifist. At the beginning I hated her, she had no personality -- She lay in bed with me like a dead body And I was scared, because she was shaped just the way I was Only much whiter and unbreakable and with no complaints. Lines 19-21 Dead hands, dead stringencies. She draws an interesting Sexton's narrator seems angrier that Plath's, resenting the "God within me", and uses violent. The whiteness refers to fog, a vapor-like form of water, something intangible and fleeting, whereas dark water is a physical, feasible liquid.
Mirror by Sylvia Plath
She cut it rather than the onion she was supposed to be chopping. They are charging directly at the sun, a new day is approaching. Then I realized what she wanted was for me to love her: She began to warm up, and I saw her advantages. When youve lived a life so long in one body, you dont know how to be anyone else, even tho you cannot stand the body. However, the reader sees a drastic change in the last 4 stanzas. Is it more important to please others by staying the same, the way they know you? The speaker is holding on for dear life, unable to grasp her neck. Firstly i can understand how this poem can be associated with an eating disorder of some type, but the conclusion i have come to after a critical analysis towards the poem is the effects of drug and alcohol use.
Ariel by Sylvia Plath: Analysis, Poem & Theme
I blamed her for everything, but she didn't answer. Post your Analysis Message This may only be an analysis of the writing. In time our relationship grew more intense. Should you stay with yourself and grow of your own accord through your own standards? And my skin itched and flaked away in soft pieces Simply because she looked after me so badly. Or will it be easier to accept the one that others have made for you, the you that is shaped by their views and standards? Cite this page as follows: "Anne Sexton's "The Civil War" and Sylvia Plath's "In Plaster" speak to the multiple selves and identities that both Sexton and Plath, respectively, and perhaps other women of the atomic age felt dueling within themselves. When I hit her she held still, like a true pacifist. I patronized her a little, and she lapped it up -- You could tell almost at once she had a slave mentality.
