Plath Essay

Morning song ‘Love set you go like a fat golden watch’ time count down to the babies’ arrival. Precious and valuable ‘New statue’ ‘drafty museum’ Overwhelmed and afraid to touch their new child. Struggling to feel and adequate mother. ‘One cry’ mother is now in tune with her baby. Awakening at its cry’s. She has adopted her maternal traits. Other than the ‘bald cry’ the child was once acknowledged as. ‘Clear vowels rise like balloons’ optimise, Plath now finds joy in the melody of her child’s voice. The poem is framed is ‘love’ and ‘balloons’ both positive buoyant words.
ChildWritten 2 weeks before Plath took her own life. Simple uncluttered language. ‘One absolutely beautiful thing’ shows her intense love for her child, yet also conveys her dark depression forces her to see and feel no beauty or happiness in the world, other than her child. ‘April snowdrop’ Natural image of utter perfection. White is the traditional colour of purity and innocence. Illustrates her child to be unblemished and flawless. ‘Indian pipe’ flower that grows taking all the nutrients from other plants. Plath views herself as a parasite extracting all the goodness from her child.
Longs for her child to see only events of awe inspiring and enriching in life. Plath feels she will taint this wish. The final tercet conduces emotion turmoil gripping the poet. ‘Wringing of hands’ evokes the sense of panic and anxiety. ‘Dark/celling without a star’ is most disturbing especially as we remember the gripping end to Plath’s death. Which is and entirely claustrophobic and sinister. Devoid of a star, of light and hope in contrast to her ‘blank canvas’