POET: Sylvia Plath
BORN: October 27, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts
DIED: February 11, 1963, in London, England
SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT OF THE POET
Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Otto Plath, a professor of German
and entomology (specializing in bees) at Boston University, and Aurelia Plath, a high school
teacher. She had one brother, Warren, how was born two and a half years later. Soon after this,
Otto’s started to face health difficulties, suspecting he had cancer. The family moved in 1936 to
Winthrop, Massachusetts, which is where Plath grew to love the beautiful and powerful sea. In
1940, just after Plath’s eighth birthday, her father died from complications due to diabetes
mellitus, which was an easily curable disease, after a leg amputation surgery. This would have a
strong effect on Plath later on in her life, and influence some of her poems. In 1942 after Otto’s
death, Aurelia moved the family to Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Plath stayed until college.
She became a star academic student, acing all her courses and excelling in English and creative
writing (her first poem was even published in the Boston Herald when she was eight).
In 1950, Plath attended an all girls’ school, Smith College, on a scholarship. Here, she felt the
stress and pressure of university. While at Smith, Plath’s poetry was a lot more structured and
light, focusing on the technical perfection of the poems, as opposed to the unconventional, dark
poems of her later life that have much deeper meaning. In August 1953, Plath suddenly
disappeared for several days and was found under her porch with an almost-empty bottle of
sleeping pills. Between this time and the time she went to England (1955) Plath dated several
young men. However in 1956, after she went to Cambridge University on a Fulbright
Scholarship, she met Ted Hughes, also a poet as well as her future husband, whom she would
marry in 1956.
In 1959 Plath became pregnant with their first child, Frieda. In 1960 she became pregnant again,
but had a miscarriage. In 1962, their son Nicholas was born. In 1962, Plath found out about
Ted’s infidelity, and their relationship was severely strained. Soon after, split up, and Plath was
left alone with her two children. In February 1963, Plath committed suicide.
One of the main poetry movements during the 1950s and 60s, which influenced Plath, was
confessional poetry. Confessional poetry is a style of poetry that emerged in the U.S. and is
highly autobiographical and included the major topics of suicide and sexuality, just like is seen in
many of Plath’s poems.
PERSONAL REFLECTION On poet (a paragraph):
I found Sylvia Plath’s poetry as a whole to be quite enjoyable. Her poems were mostly well
thought out, but at the same time very troubling. What I found most interesting about her
poems were the myriad layers beneath the lines of each one. Although the analysis could be
somewhat confusing at times, it was interesting to compare her poems based on the year they
were written, to various events in her life, which often shined through in the form of allusions,
metaphors, and other imagery/literary devices. Plath’s poetry was also interesting because of
the different devices it experimented with in each poem, not conforming to the typical poetic
structure where there is a strict rhyme scheme, and various other conventions. For example, in
the poem “You’re,” the title was like an apostrophe for each line of the poem. Overall, Plath’s
work, though thoroughly disturbing/depressing, was engaging.
1. Lady Lazarus 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY: The poem talks about a woman doing “it,” which turns out to be death, but
she keeps coming back, like a cat with nine lives. She talks about dying as an art and compares
herself to the Holocaust victims. In the end she is resurrected again.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS, & ARCHETYPES
HOLOCAUST: Lady Lazarus talks about the Nazis, sympathizing with and feeling as though she
was a Jewish victim from the Holocaust. This could possibly have something to do with her
father, who was of German origin.
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Stanzas 2-4 use disturbing Nazi imagery to describe Lady Lazarus
Stanzas 22-6: More imagery correlating with the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust,
as well as alluding to the rumor/myth of several Nazi experiments
REBIRTH & RENEWAL: This concept juxtaposes the idea of death and deterioration that is talked
about in most of the poem (see diction, juxtaposition).
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Stanza 7: “Like the cat I have nine times to die”  simile that symbolizes that she is
coming back and her time is not done
Stanza 28: “Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair”  symbolizes rebirth of a Phoenix, a
mythical bird that bursts into flames and then is reborn from its own ashes
BIBLICAL
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TITLE “Lady Lazarus”: Lazarus was a beggar in a Bible Parable, whom Jesus brought back
from the dead  connects with the rebirth, etc.
“Herr God, Herr Lucifer”: Lucifer is associated with Satan, which is juxtaposition because
it is placed next to God
PLATH’S REAL LIFE
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Stanzas 1, 7-8, 12-3: allusions to her suicide attempts, which occurred when she was 21
with sleeping pills, and then when she was 30 in a car accident
Stanza 28 “I eat men like hair”: she had many boyfriends in her earlier years
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“I have done it again./ One year in every ten/ I manage it ––“ (1-3).
“A I am a smiling woman./ I am only thirty./ And like the cat I have nine times to die” (19-21).
“The peanut-crunching crowd/ Shoves in to see/ Them unwrap me hand and foot” (26-8).
“Dying/ Is an art, like everything else, I do it exceptionally well” (43-5).
“A cake of soap, A wedding ring, A gold filling” (76-8).
“Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air” (82-4).
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: The narrator is ‘Lady Lazarus’ herself. She seems to be reciting a
monologue, addressing the reader/audience, though at times she addresses different
characters, such as “Herr (Mr.) Doktor,” “Herr Enemy,” “Herr God,” and “Herr Lucifer.” This
gives the effect that she is warning the reader towards the end, which intensifies the eerie, dark
mood that the poem evokes. This almost seems as if it is a warning or a cry for help.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 28 stanzas, each with 3-lines (tercets).
Each line is relatively short and punchy, and there is ample enjambment, which gives the poem a
choppy, forceful feeling. Examples of enjambment:
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My right foot/A paperweight
My face a featureless, fine/Jew linen
What a trash/To annihilate each decade
The peanut-crunching crowd/ Shoves in to see/ Them unwrap me hand and foot
The pure gold baby/ That melts to a shriek
There is rhyme, but no set rhyme scheme or pattern. Examples of rhyme scheme:
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Line 1-2: again/ten
Line 45-6, 8: well/hell/cell
Line 63: charge…large/charge
Line 73-4: turn…burn/concern
Line 83-6: Beware/hair/air
Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are irregular and freewheeling, adding to the disturbed,
unbalanced mood of the poem.
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Alliteration: face…featureless…fine; hearing…heart
Assonance: nine…die; see…me…tease; touch/blood
Consonance: seashell/call/well/hell/cell
Synesthesia: ”melts to a shriek”
Cliché: “I have done it again.”
There is anaphora of several phrases, but like the rest of the poem, there is no clear structure or
pattern. Thus, there is irregularity that makes the poem sound untamed and fierce.
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The/A (followed by an object)
I do it/ It’s easy enough to do it; the same
There is a charge
Or a/ So
I am your
Diction includes words that are very harsh and war-like, which goes along with the allusions to
WWII and Nazis throughout the poem.
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Line 24 ‘annihilate’ is a very aggressive, war-like term; ‘Herr’ means ‘Mr.’ in German
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Stanza 26 consists of imagery of rumored Nazi experiments (cake of soap  soap made
of human fat; wedding rings and gold fillings  they were taken and melted down)
Stanzas 23-4 “pure gold baby/ That melts to a shriek”  referencing melting of gold
fillings and rings, as mentioned above
Juxtaposition of several concepts makes the death imagery and the darkness of the poem stand
out even more.
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Stanza 22 the German word ‘Doktor’ is placed next to the English word ‘enemy,’ which is
interesting because she didn’t use German for ‘enemy,’ even though she is comparing
herself to a Nazi (German) victim
Stanza 27 “Herr God, Herr Lucifer”: Lucifer is associated with Satan
Stanza 23 “I am your opus”: magnum opus means greatest work, and as a word has a
connotation of finality, juxtaposing rebirth (see REBIRTH & RENEWAL)
Imagery: there is a lot of death imagery, describing a gruesome, deteriorating body, like a
corpse oh a Jew from the Holocaust.
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Stanzas 5-6; Stanzas 11-17; Stanzas 21-2
Tone: The tone is mostly negative, though there are certain areas of ironical playfulness (e.. – “I
am a smiling woman” and “peanut-crunching crowd,” which implies she is in a circus). The mood
evoked from the reader is one that is very dark and depressing, as the ample death imagery as
well as the stark juxtapositions leave the reader shocked and even horrified.
Shift: Amidst all the horrific imagery is the first mention of renewal/rebirth, in Stanza 7. After
stanza 12, the poem starts to talk directly about Death, with less Nazi/Holocaust imagery.
Around stanza 19, the theme of rebirth comes creeping in again.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use symbolism and imagery in “Lady Lazarus”?
2. Snake Charmer 1957
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: The poem talks about a snake charmer, who controls the “snaky
sphere” with his music. The poem describes the snake charmer controlling and bringing to life
the snakes, but then describes how they melt back when he puts down his pipe.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
PICTURE: The poem alludes to the picture entitled “The Snake Charmer,” by Henri Rousseau,
which depicts a vision of an exotic landscape in the moonlight, with lucid, dream-like depictions
of plants and animals.
PHALLIC SYMBOLS: There are several phallic symbols, which may be significant, because 1957 is
just after her marriage to Ted Hughes (1956).
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“Mouth-pipe,” “he pipes,” “Pipe”
“reedy lengths and necks and undulatings”
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“From his thin pipe”
“Eden’s navel”
“Puts up his pipe, and lids his moony eye”
FERTILITY/BIRTH: “As out of Eden’s navel the lines/ Of snaky generations”  symbolizes
umbilical cord
BIBLICAL
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The snakecharmer charming/hypnotizing the snakes with his pipe is like Satan/evil
hypnotizing humans
“As the gods began one world…So the snakecharmer begins a snaky sphere” 
symbolizes the circle of life as well as alludes to ‘God the Creator’
“Of tree and human”  Tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, which has all the
knowledge of good and evil
“…Out of this green nest/ As out of Eden’s navel twists the lines/ Of Snaky Generations:
let there be snakes!”  Adam and Eve, the first two humans to procreate
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“As the gods began one world, and man another,/ So the snakecharmer begins a snaky sphere”
(1).
“Pipes water green until green waters waver/ With reedy lengths and necks and undulatings” (45).
“…And he within this snakedom/ Rules the writhings which make manifest/ His snakehood and
his might with pliant tunes/ From his thin pipe” (15-8).
“Of snake generations: let there be snakes!” (18-20)  allusion to “Let there be light!”
“Pipes the world back to the simple fabric/ Of snake-warp, snake-weft” (23-4).
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: This poem is in the third person, with a removed narrator describing
the actions of the Snakecharmer. Because of this, it feels almost like a story or legend being told,
instead of a poem being read out by someone.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 8 stanzas with 3-3-3-6-3-3-3-4 lines respectively.
The poem has a circular/cyclical structure, starting with no snake world, and then creating one,
and ending by destroying it and therefore returning to the initial state. The ending mirrors the
beginning: “With moon-eye, mouth-pipe, He pipes. Pipes green. Pipes water.” vs. “…back to
Water, to green, to nothing like a snake. Puts up his pipe, and lids his moony eye.”
This is symbolic of the circle of life.
There is enjambment throughout the poem, connecting lines and even stanzas together. When
looked at visually, this gives the effect of a snake, with the end of each line connecting to the
beginning of the next:
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And as his notes twine green, the green river/ Shapes its images around his sons.
As out of Eden’s navel twist the lines/ Of snaky generations…
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…Pipes the cloth of snakes/ To a melting of green waters, till no snake/ Shows its head,
and those green waters…
There does seem to be a (loose) repeating rhyme scheme, which follows this pattern: ABA ACA
DED FGFHIH JKJ LMN OOP PQPR
Alliteration and consonance add to the loose rhyming of the poem, and make it sound/appear to
flow better, and more snake-like:
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‘s’ alliteration: “snaky sphere”; “snake-scales”
‘s’ consonance: lengths, necks, undulatings, notes, “shapes its images…sons,” tongues,
grass, snakes, sways, scales, yawns
There is epiphora of the phrases “He pipes” (see phallic symbol), “green” (see imagery), and
“water” (water symbolizes life).
Diction:
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Snakecharmer  combines snake and charmer into one word, making it seem like a
special entity itself, as opposed to normal snake charmers (spelled with a space)
Snakedom  kingdom; Snakehood  could be a substitution for “manhood,” fitting in
with the phallic symbols and sexual innuendos
Undulatings  undulate means to move with a smooth, wavelike motion, symbolizing
the movement of snakes, but possibly also being a sexual innuendo
Reedy  can mean tall and thin, or high and thin in tone (another sexual innuendo)
Pliant  means easily bent or influenced… could be referring to temptation & evil
Juxtaposition: see imagery, for the color green.
Imagery: the color green is used heavily in the poem, and juxtaposes itself:
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Symbolizes greed/vices/jealousy  evil like the serpent in the Bible
Symbolizes life, vitality, and fertility  fits in with the sexual innuendos
Snakes seem to symbolize greed and humans, while the snakecharmer symbolizes God
Tone/Mood: Though te tone is mostly neutral, there is an overall negative mood, because the
snakes have an evil connotation. The poem is also about how life is ephemeral, and everything
lies in the hands of the creator, so this can also be interpreted negatively.
Shift: Stanza 1 introduces the creation. Stanzas 2-7 describe the steps of creation. Stanzas 8-9,
however, describe the destruction of the entire snaky world because the snakecharmer feels
tired, leaving the world back to how it was at the start of the poem.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use structural devices to emphasize the effect
of “Snake Charmer”?
3. Ode for Ted 1956
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem is an ode, or praise, about a man, who is described as
the supreme individual of the forest. The man’s control and command over the plants, animals
(cowardly and cunning), and other elements of nature is emphasized. (1956 was the year Plath
married Hughes).
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
“For his least look, scant acres yield”  allusion to fertility and pregnancy, thus relating to
Plath’s real life.
BIBLICAL: Adam is from the bible and was meant to be in charge of naming all the animals,
which is alluded to in stanzas 1 & 2 of the poem.
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“From under the crunch of my man’s boot/ green oat-sprouts jut” (1).
“he with rock splits open/ knobbed quartz; flayed colors ripen” (10-1).
“For his least look, scant acres yield” (13).
“all earth his words do summon/ leaps to laud such man’s blood” (24).
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: This poem is narrated in the first person, which is seen because it
says “my man’s boot” in the very first line. This is interesting because the rest of the poem
sounds as if it is being read in the third person. The fact that it is a first person narration, but not
by the subject of the poem, Plath’s life influence shines through, because as we know she had
just gotten married at the time the poem was written, and this is like her personally praising
Ted.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 4 stanzas each with 6 lines (sextets).
There is enjambment, which makes the poem flow more smoothly and creates the effect of a
tranquil forest, the lines running together possible representing a stream in the peaceful forest.
There is a lose rhyme scheme, based more on assonance & consonance than perfect rhyme, that
goes somewhat along the following pattern: AAABBA CCCDDC EEEFFE GGGHHG. This regularity
is something that is not always seen in Plath poems, but the structure helps illustrate the forest
and its.
There is a lot of alliteration throughout out the poem, which adds to the flowing, playful nature
of the lines, that is overall representative of the forest.
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“have; hefting chalk-hulled” (9)
“finger-furrowed field” (14)
“well within his wood” (21)
“leaps to laud” (24)
Hyperbole: “all earth” (25)
Imagery: there is a lot of color and nature imagery, which adds to the powerful image of the
man portrayed
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Color
o Green oat-sprouts, Red fox, Blue fur, rich brown quartz
Nature: Nature
o Lapwing (an adaptive creature), sweeping, rabbit (a more cowardly creature),
oat sprouts, fox (a cunning creature), stoat, bramble, stalk, leaf, fruit, quarts
(symbolizes human spirit & intellect and ‘adaptiveness’
Tone: This poem has a very positive tone, especially because it is a poem focused on how it been
an amazing six months.
Shift: There is no shift really in the poem, because of the fact that it is all positive and laudatory
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use sound devices in Ode for Ted?
4. You’re 1960
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: In this poem, the narrator describes her newborn baby. The
description is mostly positive, although the uses of certain adjectives make the message unclear
at times.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
DODO’S MODE: this allusion to the dodo bird, an extinct species, it trying to say that the
narrator hopes the baby will not turn out like the dodo’s mode.
“Feet to the Stars”  representative of the fetal position
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“Feet to the stars and moon-skulled,/ Gilled like a fish.”
“Mute as a turnip from the Fourth/ Of July to All Fools’ Day”
“Vague as fog and looked for like mail”
“Snug as a bud and at home/ Like a sprat in a pickle jug.”
“A clean slate with your own face on.”
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: The narrator is the mother of the unborn child, anticipating the
child’s arrival into the world. The poem is written in second person.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 2 stanzas, each with 9 lines. The nine lines could be symbolic of the 9 months it takes
for a baby to be born.
Almost each line of the poem can be read with “You’re” at the start of it. This is almost like a
form of apostrophe.
There is enjambment especially in the first stanza, which seems to describe the baby in the
womb. Thus the enjambment cou;d represent the watery, flowy-ness of the womb, or perhaps
even the twisting and twining of the umbilical cord. (E.g. “…A common-sense/ Thumbs-down on
the dodo’s mode”)
There is no particular rhyme scheme, but alliteration and consonance are present, making the
poem read more like a nursery rhyme. (E.g. thumbs down on the dodo’s mode; Fools’, pickle,
creel, eels, all, ripples)
Personification: “Jumpy as a Mexican bean”
Diction: moon-skulled and mute seem to have dark/bad connotations…not something to
describe a baby; “Vague as fog” is not generally a good thing – is often found in creepy ghost
stories, etc.
Tone: The tone is mostly positive and neutral, although certain adjectives juxtapose with the
rest of the poem, giving the appearance of negativity, when in fact the poem is not negative.
There is a dark mood created, however, as a result of these sly words.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use structural devices in “You’re”?
5. Cut 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem describes a woman who has just cut her thumb while
slicing an onion. She immediately feels thrilled, considering it like a celebration, but as the blood
flows she takes a painkiller and grows sad, having conflicting feelings for the wound. There
seems to be a theme of self-destruction recurring in the latter half of the poem.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS/ARCHETYPES
Plath dedicated this poem to her nanny, Susan O´Neill Roe as a "welcome” gesture.
PHALLIC SYMBOL: the thumb stump could possibly be a phallic symbol, representing her
severance of Ted’s penis, because 1962 is when she and Ted were splitting up. The million
soldiers rushing out (Lines 17-8) refers to the blood from the cut, but could also be a symbol for
sperm.
ONION: onions have many layers; this is symbolic of the cut having layers  seen through the
shift in the poem from excitement/curiosity to sadness, to anger/reprehensibility
HOMUNCULUS: a very small human; could possibly be an allusion to Ted/phallic symbol
ENEMY ALLUSIONS: There are many allusions to war, especially in the second half of the poem,
that add to the theme of self destruction in the poem.
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“Indian’s axed your scalp”  scalping is a violent, war-like practice
Redcoat  the British in the Revolutionary War (is considered the Enemy; to be called a
redcoat is insulting for an American)
Saboteur, Kamikaze  WWII suicide bombers; kamikaze means divine wind
KKK  white supremacist group that engages in cult practices
Babushka  Russian scarf, thus alluding to the Cold War
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“What a thrill -/ My thumb instead of an onion.”
“A flap like a hate,/ Dead white.”
“Out of a gap/ A million soldiers run,/ Redcoats, every one.”
“O my/ Homunculus, I am ill.”
“Trepanned veteran,/ Dirty girl,/ Thumb stump.”
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: This poem is narrated in the first person in the present tense. The
narrator (the poem’s subject) is talking to herself in real time, making the readers feel like they
are actually there, watching the “fizzing” wound. This emphasizes the disturbing-ness and
curiosity of the poem.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 8 stanzas with 4-4-4-7-4-4-8-4 lines respectively.
There is enjambment, which gives the effect of visualizing the actual thumb stump hanging from
the narrator’s finger (e.g. “The top quite gone/Except for a sort of hinge/Of skin”).
There is no rhyme scheme although there are some instances of rhyming (e.g. ill/pill/kill;
run/one; man/Klan; jump/stump).
Diction:
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Trepanned  means sawed off; seems highly scornful
“dirty girl”  similarly as above, this seems scornful of herself, as if Plath is chastising
herself for only being able to cut the thumb and not go through with the whole suicide
Juxtaposition:
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“Dead white” makes the thumb imagery stand out more
Sarcastic/playful comments like “What a thrill” and “Little pilgrim” contrast greatly from
the dark mood of the poem and the normal feelings associated with cutting oneself
Imagery: Blood is used a lot to illustrate the wound and the war/enemy allusions. However, it
also inhibits her, because she has to take a painkiller, which gives her a “thin/ Papery feeling,”
which she despises.
Tone/Mood: The tone is very dark and gloomy, mostly negative when broken up line by line, but
at the same time with certain parts of satisfaction and even pleasure. The mood evoked in the
reader is sad and disturbing, especially due to the imagery.
Shift: Stanzas 1-4 show the narrator finding joy in her accident. Stanza 5 is a shift, after which
the narrator seems sadder and less satisfied, even scolding. Stanzas 7-8 seem much darker,
alluding to death/suicide.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use enemy/war imagery in this poem?
6. Morning Song 1961
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem describes the birth of a child as well as the emotions
that accompany this. The narrator describes her love for the child and her emotions at being a
new mother as well as some of her duties that are fueled by her intense adoration and sense of
responsibility for her baby. (Written the same time her daughter, Frieda, was born).
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
MOTHERHOOD: This is seen through many symbols, including the Victorian nightgown, which
represents the perfect domestic house woman.
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“…cow heavy and floral/ In my Victorian nightgown.”
“I’m no more your mother/ Than the cloud that distills a mirror…”
“The clear vowels rise like balloons.”
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: The narrator in this poem is the child’s mother, who speaks in the
first person and almost has a conversational tone towards her child. This allows the poem to
display/create a feeling of unconditional love.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 6 stanzas each with 3 lines (tercets). There is an alternating pattern between long and
short lines, starting with short. This gives the impression that the middle line is being guarded or
sheltered by the outer two of every stanza (links to motherhood).
There is enjambment at some places in the poem, which add to its natural flow, but is not a
significant part of the poem. Examples:
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“…and your bald cry/ Took its places among the elements”
“…I wake to listen:/ A far sea moves in my ear”
There is no rhyme scheme that goes with this poem, but there is some alliteration, assonance,
and consonance. For example: “”clean as a cat’s,” “its own slow,” and “safety. We stand around
blankly as walls.”
Synesthesia: “All night your moth-breath/ Flickers” and “The clear vowels rise like balloons.”
Diction: “among the elements”  the use of the word elements makes one think of the forces
of nature and other large, important things. Thus, this comparison makes the baby seem extra
special.
Imagery: Nature imagery is quite common in this poem: cloud, wind, sea, moth, cow, cat, stars,
wind, clouds (symbol for aging gracefully). In addition, the Museum is a metaphor for a large,
empty Hospital. “Love set you going like a fat gold watch” is a simile, in which the watch
symbolizes the ephemeral quality of life. “Flat pink roses” is a metaphor for baby’s tongue.
Tone: The tone is mostly positive, although there remains a discernable negativity to the poem,
especially in the 3rd stanza. This makes the reader doubt Plath’s intentions, and whether or not
she actually loves her baby.
Shift: Stanza 3 is a darker shift than the rest of the poem.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use imagery in “Morning Song”?
7. A Birthday Present 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem is about the narrator wondering about her “birthday
present” and reflecting that she has not had a very good year so far. The narrator repeatedly
speculates and wonders about “it,” at first in a state of marvel, and later in a state of frustration
as to why she cannot get “it.”
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
“Let us eat our last supper at it, like a hospital plate.”  allusion to the bible last supper,
however, this is ironic because the last supper is not something that would usually be associated
with a hospital plate, which creates a grim, unwelcoming image
“White as babies’ bedding”  reference to the typical Victorian domestic life
Veil  similar to wrapping paper, which connects to the title
“It”  represents death, something that she cannot quite see but is curious to experience; no
one else can feel it but her…this foreshadows/alludes to her suicidal thoughts during this time in
her life
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“What is this, behind this veil, is it ugly, is it beautiful?”
“I do not want much of a present, anyway, this year./ After all I am alive only by accident.”
“The diaphanous satins of a January window/ White as babies’ bedding and glittering with dead
breath. O ivory!”
“…They are carbon monoxide/ Sweetly, sweetly I breathe in,/ Filling my veins with invisibles,
with the million”
“Pure and clean as the cry of a baby,/ And the universe slide from my side.”
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: The narrator in this poem is a woman, speaking to herself (in the first
person). She is speaking to “it,” which is unknown, so this can be considered apostrophe. The
effect of this narration is that readers feel as if the are looking at the “it” as well, trying to figure
out what it along with the narrator.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 31 stanzas, each of which is 2 lines (couplets).
There is enjambment connecting stanzas, which gives the effect of the narrator sounding
overwhelmed and excited, trying to better express her anger. (E.g. – “When I am quiet at my
cooking I feel it looking, I feel it thinking/ ‘Is this the one I am to appear for…”)
There is no rhyme scheme as such, but there are certain words that rhyme here and there. (E.g.
– cooking/looking/thinking/measuring/writing)
Alliteration and assonance make up somewhat for the lack of rhyme in the poem, however also
add to its unpredictability and curiousness. Examples:
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am, alive, accident, an, antique
veil, days
my, life
one annunciation
Homophone: Stanza 3 “too” instead of “to”; Stanza 5 “to” instead of “too”
Anaphora & Epiphora: is, I am, do not, no, must you, let it not, I/there would, can you not
Juxtaposition: the stark contrast of several adjectives adds to the dramatic quality of the poem
(E.g. – Dead breath).
Diction: words used are extreme and add to the drama and hiddenness of the poem and the
elusive “it”:
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enormity  means on an extreme scale
mirror  gives a sense of uncertainty/shimmer/uncertainty, as well as reflectiveness
diaphanous  a low-pitched fog signal…odd adjective to describe satin
Tone/Mood: the poem is largely negative, with the narrator’s curiosity towards “it” growing into
anger and frustration. At the same time, however, it is very casual. The mood evoked by the
poem is very dark and eerie, as the reader can sense the suicidal thoughts.
Shift: The narrator is merely curious at first, growing more and more frustrated especially after
stanza 14.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use structural devices to emphasize the effect?
8. For a Fatherless Son 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem is about a woman telling he son, who is too young to
comprehend, of the absence of his father in his life. The woman seems on hand to place some of
the blame on the child, but on the other displays an intimate affection for the child, ending with
a speculation of how the child cannot stay innocent forever.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
CONNECTION TO PLATH’S LIFE: This could possible have been for her actual son, because this
was written around the time of her break up with Ted.
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: Identify the narrator. Key question: What effect does the author
achieve with point of view, and what seems to be his purpose?
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 3 stanzas with 5-5-4 lines respectively.
There is some enjambment, which makes the poem feel softer and smoother. E.g. “It is good for
me/ To have you grab my nose, a ladder rung.”
There is somewhat of a very lose rhyming pattern that follows a pattern of AAABB CADAA EEFG.
Alliteration, assonance, and consonance add to the rhyming to make the poem sound more
together and smooth:
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small skulls, the smashed blue hills, the godawful hush (alliteration)
sky/backside (assonance)
Balding, gelded by lightning (consonance)
Diction:
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Dumb & Stupidity  both are quite harsh words – not what one expect a mother to call
their young child, and yet they are spoken with intentions of love
“gelded”  means castrated/fixed, which oddly enough is describing the “absence” or
“tree”
Juxtaposition: Juxtapositions are stark and bring to light what seem to be conflicting emotions
about her child:
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“an utter lack of attention” indicates that the child was conceived not purposefully, and
without love, however “An I love your stupidity” juxtaposes this immediately
“But right now you are dumb” seems so be a very harsh description, not one with care
in mind, and yet the next line is “And I love your stupidity”.
“Death tree”  trees symbolize life and growth, which is the opposite of death
Tone: There is a certain playfulness due to the intimate interactions described between mother
and son, however the overall tone is somewhat grim, especially in parts of the 1st and last
stanzas.
Shift: Between stanza 1 & 2 there is a shift from negative feelings to more positive feelings and
affection, but this shifts back briefly in the last stanza, ending with a line that is somewhat
neutral, and hopeful sounding.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath’s diction affect the meaning of this poem?
9. Daddy 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This narrator in this poem creates an image of her father,
describing their relationship using a myriad of descriptive metaphors. The speaker also speaks of
getting revenge by killing both her father and a model of him (her husband), showing the end of
their relationship.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
Allusion in the first stanza to a nursery rhyme: “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.”
Stanza 3: allusion to where she grew up, with the mention of Atlantic, and “beautiful Nauset”
OEDIPUS/ELECTRA COMPLEX: This idea is alluded to in the 12-3th stanzas, where the narrator
wishes they could bring their father back to life, but instead settles for making a “model”  this
alludes to Plath’s own Electra complex.
“I do, I do”  Sounds like I du, I du, and translating from German, this would end up meaning I
you, I you
Reference to Sylvia’s suicide attempt, however the poem states at the age of ten, whereas hers
was at the age of 8.
VAMPIRE: allusion to vampires at the end of the poem (stanza 15); adds to the creepiness of the
poem overall, and is used to describe the sucking of her father’s blood. It is a symbol of Ted
because it is a metaphor of how he drained her for the length of their relationship/marriage
“black telephone’s off at the root”  symbolizes severance of ties and isolation, but specifically
alludes to the incident in which she found out about Ted & Assia’s affair.
NAZI/GERMAN: There is a lot of allusion to WWII/Germany/Nazism, probably because Plath’s
father was German.
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In Stanza 13, there is an allusion to Hitler and Nazis with the mention of “Meinkampf” as
well as the “rack and the screw,” which is a torture device.
Stanza 7: mentions Dachau, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen (concentration camps)
The swastika in line 47.
Mustache, Aryan eyes, and panzer are all allusions to Nazism (panzer means tank)
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“”You do not do, you do not do/ Any more, black shoe/ In which I have lived like a foot”
“An engine, an engine/ Chuffing me off like a Jew.”
“Every woman adores a Fascist,/ The boot in the face, brute/ Brute heart of a brute like you.”
“And then I knew what to do,/ I made a model of you”
“Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.”
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 16 stanzas, each with five lines (quintet).
There is lots of enjambment, which adds to the nursery rhyme-like quality of the poem. E.g.:
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“”You do not do, you do not do/ Any more, black shoe/ In which I have lived like a foot”
“Scraped flat by the roller/ Of wars, wars, wars.”
“The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna/ Are not very pure of true.”
“A man in black with a Meinkampf look/ And a love of the rack and the screw.”
There is no particular rhyme scheme to the poem, but there is alliteration/assonance/
consonance in the middle of different lines in the poem, particularly with the ‘oo’ sound. (e.g.
“The boot in the face, the brute/ Brute heart of a brute like you”; do, shoe, Achoo, you, blue, du,
two, Jew, true, goo)
Repetition (Anaphora/Epiphora): “You do not do,” “wars,” “ich,” “An engine,” “a Jew,” “my
Taroc pack,” “And your,” “brute,” “back,” “I do,” “you” (Epiphora), “Daddy.”
Apostrophe: Daddy is an example of apostrophe, since her father is already dead, which makes it
strange that she narrator is talking to him, but adds a feeling of confession and intensifies the
anger and emotions.
Hyperbole: “Not God but a swastika/ So black no sky could squeak through.”
Diction: Taroc pack  set of playing cards used for fortune telling  comparing her bad luck to
her being a Jew with a German father
“Gobbledygoo”  used to describe the formidable Luftwaffe, when in face it is a playful,
gibberish word.
Juxtaposition: there is stark juxtaposition that makes the poem stand out: For example, in the
last line: daddy is an endearing term, whereas bastard is highly insulting
Tone: There is a disturbing sense of playful violence in this poem, which makes it clear that the
tone is very negative, and is vengeful and almost evil h
Shift: There is a shift from the initial dark imagery to the “beautiful Nauset” in Stanza 3.
Becomes harsher again in stanzas 6 & 7, ending with a tone of frustration and finality.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: How does Sylvia Plath use sound devices in “Daddy”?
10. Poppies in July 1962
1-2 LINE SUMMARY OF POEM: This poem is about the bright red flowers of a poppy plant, as a
woman talks to them. She displays increasing frustration towards them hinting at self-harming,
suicidal ideas.
LIST OF SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS/PEOPLE, ALLUSIONS/CONNECTIONS, SYMBOLS & ARCHETYPES
The depression faced by the character seems very similar to what Plath was facing in her own
lifel.
HEARTACHE: The narrator is suffering from heartache, which is worse than an actual wound
because it does not heal in the physical sense (see stanza 6)
SELF-DESTRUCTION: This poem talks about the use of alcohol and drugs, etc. complaining that
the narrator wants the opiates from the poppy flower. This demonstrates self-destructive
desires, and hints suicide in the last 2 lines.
POPPIES: Poppy flowers are often present at funerals, and in this sense represent death.
LIST OF SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT QUOTATIONS
“Little poppies, little hell flames,/ Do you do no harm?”
“A mouth just bloodied. Little bloody skirts!”
“If I could bleed, or sleep! –“
“Dulling and stilling./ But colorless. Colorless.”
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: This poem is narrated in the first person, allowing the author to
convey their emotions aloud, probably to themselves about their longing for these poppies. This
point of view makes the anger in the poem come across stronger and with more immediacy.
TECHNICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND STYLISTIC STRATEGIES IN THE POEM
There are 8 stanzas with two lines each (couplets), except for the last stanza, which is only one
line.
There is no discernible rhyme scheme in the poem.
Apostrophe: the narrator is talking to something not actually there (the flowers), which gives a
heightened sense of isolation, singularity, and aloneness.
Diction: “glass capsule”  could be referring to a drug (e.g. cocaine, morphine), but could also
be representing confinement
Imagery: There is abundant blood imagery in almost every stanza, either from actual blood, or
reference to the color red. This possibly signifies an obsession with blood, and by extension,
death. This is because probably the only time that one person would see as much blood as that
in the poem is when either they or someone around them is bleeding out due to a fatal injury or
something along the sort. The poppies are also described visually as “little bloody skirt,” which
makes them seem bad.
Juxtaposition:
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red can represent compassion, lust, and love, but here it symbolizes blood and death
and wounds/brokenness.
Also, the poppy flower seems to have two contradicting parts: the colorful flower part,
and the invisible and harmful drug part, which is what Sylvia wants but cannot have.
Last line: “Colorless.” Strongly juxtaposes the vivid red that is mentioned everywhere
else in the poem.
Little bloody skirts  skirts are innocent, feminine, and delicate, which is juxtaposed
greatly by the blood
Tone: the poem has a very negative tone overall, eliciting a dark and depressing mood in
readers. Almost all lines of the poem are negative.
Shift: The poem starts out with a sense of yearning. Then ins stanza 4, anger seems to build and
fortify. Finally, in the last two stanzas it seems to die down again, back to a strong desire and
yearning.
POSSIBLE IB QUESTIONS: What effect does narrative perspective have on this poem?
Citations:
"Biography." A Celebration, This Is. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://www.sylviaplath.info/biography.html>.
"Confessional Poetry." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional_poetry>.