‘The Arrival Of The Bee Box’ by Sylvia Plath
The poem ‘The Arrival Of The Bee Box’ by Sylvia Plath is a free verse and it contains eight stanzas. Seven of the stanzas have five lines and the last stanza is made up of a single line. This is a very unusual ending as it breaks the norms of most poems; the last stanza is more of an afterthought. The poem has no rhyme scheme and the meter varies from one line to another, which reveals a certain irregularity within a tight structure. The general form of this poem gives an impression of a structure that is extreme. The long lines that contains from 11 to 16 syllables, they are dominated by the controlling short lines that contain 4 to 8 syllables.
The basic theme in this poem is a search for control of the creative female self. The speaker uses symbolism as she indirectly talks about slavery which all relate to her anger and her need for control and freedom (Plath, line 13). Although the poem is about the reality of keeping bees, it is an extended metaphor of the emotional and creative energies of the poet who has lived a depressed life.
The bees in the box represent people like she who has been deprived of their freedom all their lives. These are people who are angry at the society for being deprived of their rights. The poet at the end illustrates her desire to be free which is referenced by her illustration that the agony is just temporary (Plath, line 36).
‘The Bee God’ by Ted Hughes
‘The Bee God’ by Ted Hughes is a 25 couplet stanzas poem. Although there is some uniformity in the poem, thoughts have been dispersed into small pieces as a result of incompleteness feelings at the loss of Plath. This is also a representation of the fragile mental state of Plath after the loss of her father. The fact that the poem is a free verse allows for conversational tone, which is as if the poet is speaking to Plath directly.
This poem is a reaction to most of the poems by Plath that link Hughes as one of the sources of her miserable life. In the poem, Hughes uses the title ‘The Bee God’ symbolically to represent the father of Plath who he illustrates was the cause of her pain and suffering. He further illustrates that he, just like Plath was just a victim and not the villain.
Through the poem, he tries to distance himself from the negative controlling profile created by Plath’s works on him. Hughes constantly uses the adverb ‘never’ to prescribe a sense of uncertainty that makes him look vulnerable (Hughes, line 1 & 8). This poem metaphorically objectifies Plath, making her a tool for Hughes poetic manipulation. Plath hence is hence
The word ‘Daddy’ is also symbolically used in the poem to help enhance the feelings that the problems that Plath had with her father were psychologically damaging and it affected her relationship and marriage (Hughes, line 2, 14, 17 & 30).
There is a concept of circular structure that is presented with the mention of the word ‘well’ both at the beginning and at the end of the poem linked with the father (Hughes line 1, 50). ‘Well’ is an imagery that represents darkness and being trapped. Plath was an individual always tormented by her father ever since she was young, and it is something that always came back around.
Works cited
Hughes, Ted. Birthday Letters. , 2009. Internet resource.
Plath, Sylvia, and Carol A. Duffy. Sylvia Plath. London: Faber, 2012. Print.
