"Initiation" is a poem written by Sylvia Plath, a talented and influential poet known for her confessional style and exploration of themes related to mental illness, death, and femininity. In "Initiation," Plath uses vivid imagery and powerful language to describe the process of growing up and coming to understand the complexities of the world.
The poem begins with a description of a "black lake" and a "moon" that "dissolves" into the water. This imagery sets a mood of mystery and uncertainty, and it also introduces the theme of change and transformation. As the poem progresses, the speaker describes a series of experiences that she undergoes in order to reach a new level of understanding. These experiences are often difficult and painful, and they involve a process of shedding old skin and emerging as a new person.
One of the most striking aspects of "Initiation" is the way that Plath uses imagery to convey the speaker's emotional and psychological state. For example, she describes the process of growing up as a "descent into a black tunnel," which suggests that it is a difficult and potentially treacherous journey. Similarly, the speaker talks about "prying open" her "tightly closed" eyes, which suggests a desire to see and understand more about the world around her.
Throughout the poem, Plath also uses vivid imagery to convey the sense of danger and uncertainty that accompanies the process of initiation. For example, she describes "sharp knives" and "razor blades" that cut and slice through the speaker's skin, which suggests that the process of growing up is often painful and difficult. At the same time, however, these images also suggest that the speaker is able to overcome these challenges and emerge stronger and more resilient as a result.
Overall, "Initiation" is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the complex and often difficult process of growing up and coming to understand the world around us. Through vivid imagery and powerful language, Plath captures the pain and uncertainty of this process, as well as the resilience and determination that is necessary to overcome it.
Sylvia Plath: The Drama of Initiation on JSTOR
The basement room was dark and warm, like the inside of a sealed jar, Millicent thought, her eyes getting used to the strange dimness. Anonymous I think that "heather birds" is a metaphor used to symbolize uniqueness, individuality, happiness, joy, and beauty. Also i believe it is a spiritual force, good force. For example in the story it says that the heatherbirds are ". He symbolises individuality his breakfast! She could not think of anyone who had ever been invited into the high school sorority and failed to get through initiation time. Quotations to show Millicents development: What girl at Lansing High would not want to be in her place 137 How horrible it would be if one never changed 138 Millicent had waited a long time for acceptance 139 Walking beside Louise on the way to the drugstore, Millicent felt a surge of pride 140 Louise Fullerton: Some of them thought Tracy was just a bit too different. Millicent was a sparrow while Tracy was similar to a Heather Bird.
Initiation Sylvia Plath Summary And Analysis Essay
Nothing ever stays the same. Heatherbirds describes the girls in various ways in the story. Each character has a different "heather bird". Later on in the story, a man she met on the bus taught her that being different was not as bad as she thought. Millicent was one of the chosen few invited to become part if the group. This includes work considering how those cultures are bound up with the crucial intellectual, social, aesthetic, political, economic, and environmental developments that have shaped the early twenty-first century as well.
But unique means one of a kind and that group had 4 of a kind and more. From the beginning, Millicent has always seem to have known that she could never be a shallow pretty girl; throughout the story, there are little clues of her reluctance to be part of the sorority, such as when she was talking to Lou, a member of the sorority, and discovering the many useless things the sorority does. Soon Millicent learned that you can be your own person and like it. Finally she emerges of the darkness to knowing that her own private initiation had just begun. After she was use to her surrounding she finally realized how the people were like how they referred to the girls as 'gophers' so she decided to be different. Post your comments in a BCR at the foot of this blog entry in a five-sentence BCR by the start of next class. It emphasises her psychological development.
