Analyse this poem. (5)
Eye symbolism
Allusion to William Blake’s death mask creates a grim pun in which a renowned optimistic visionary becomes an emblem of death — his closed eyes conclude his input
Bird metaphor
Simple declarative clauses — “I am red meat” and “I am not his yet” create an ominous tone that personifies death as a predator — a condor "(kind of vulture) — which is exemplified using consonance in “His beak claps sideways”
Taunting tone
Anaphora — “he tells me” reveals how death taunts the speaker, mocking her appearance & the innocence of her children in stark juxtaposition with their potential deaths — “how sweet the babies look in their hospital icebox” and “frill at the neck…of their Ionian death-gowns”
Juxtaposition — metaphor on perspectives? Absurdism
Plath then introduces death in “his” 2nd form with “Hair long and plausive, masturbating a glitter” which frames extravagant, flamboyant, and absurdist imagery which may represent the temptations of a potential sweet death. However, the absurdist metaphor “masturbating a glitter” implicitly frames this as repulsive
Repetition
The simple declarative sentence “the dead bell” is repeated which emphasises the ominous sound — followed by the satirical “somebody’s done for”
Which collection is "Death & Co." from?
Ariel (1965)
Structural techniques in "Death & Co."
Simple declarative sentences
Anaphora
Which typical traits of Plath does "Death & Co." use?
Eye symbolism
Which literary context is relevant to "Death & Co."?
Absurdism
Gothic conventions — e.g. imagery such as a morgue
Reaction to the Movement movement — crude depictions of death
Which autobiographical context is relevant to “Death & Co.”?
Plath’s marriage left her with 2 children
Plath was known to suffer with suicidality — this is what eventually caused her death in 1963
Margaret Rees
Plath “let her writing express elemental forces and primeval fears.”
Analyse this poem. (4)
Anatomical imagery & Taunting tone
The crow is repeatedly demeaned via noun phrases such as “scrawny little feet” and “unspeakable guts” and “minimum efficiency eyes” — this bounces between simple mockery and grotesque imagery such as “messy blood” — this evidently exemplifies the fallibility and vulnerability of life
Anaphora & repetition & eliptical sentences
Crow is repeatedly pressed on “who owns” its features — this expands macrocosmically onto “all of space” and then abstract concepts such as “who is stronger than hope?” — again, overarching an unplaceable sense of pessimism that denotes the idea that death is all-consuming
This is also highlighted as the questions become eliptical which quickens the pace and therefore the tension and consonance is used in the abstract nouns “love” and “life”.
Omniscient speaker & satire
The crow however rather hubristically at this point says that it is “evidently” stronger than death, which grants the crow the command to “pass” — the title of the poem indicates that this is how the crow is allowed to be born — therefore it seems ultimately optimistic that life is built upon the foundation of “fake-it-till-you-make-it” conviction which characterises living creatures
What collection is “Examination at the Womb-Door” from?
Crow (1970)
Structural techniques in “Examination at the Womb-Door”
Epistrophe and anaphora
Repetition of questions
Conversational structure
Which typical traits of Hughes does “Examination at the Womb-Door” use?
Motif of violence
Which literary context is relevant to “Examination at the Womb-Door”?
Modernism — structure
Reaction to the Movement movement
Which autobiographical context is relevant to “Examination at the Womb-Door”?
Hughes on Shamanism
Calvin Bedient
“Crow is the croak of nihilism itself.”
How are the poems similar and different?
They both take rather optimistic approaches to death in these poems — neither poet seems tempted to succumb to its powers
Different characterisations of death
Both seem to use comedic satire to comment on the strengths of death