Tulips - Lecture notes 17 PDF

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Tulips, Sylvia Plath poem This is a confessional poem about her life when she had an appendectomy and she was in hospital.

Stanza one - she is at the hospital and she finally has peace because no one is around This reflects her feelings by how she wants to have peace in her life, in a society that makes her feel trapped. “I am nobody.” she wants peace, no fame- no expectations Stanza 2 She dislikes the busy movement of the nurses however she is also comforted, “they are no trouble”. Same actions nothing new like in life, no changes This symbolizes how Sylvia Plath does not want to be reminded of life because she dislikes life. As she says, “Stupid pupil, it has to take everything in.”She just wants to be in peace and recover, because she is usually so pso trapped in society Stanza 3 “Now I have lost myself I am sick of baggage” She is tired of life “Their [her family] smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks,” she is dragged down by life and the expectations of her family to be the perfect mother that is why she feels so morbid and that she wants peace as she refer to in Stanza 1. She enjoys this peace because his life is so busy as explained in stanza 4 by how she needed a break from life, even though she is in pain from the surgery she enjoys the experience. Usually a family photo would be a good thing, she uses a metaphor to show that the family drains her energy (negative connotations.) Stanza 4 “My books sink out of sight, and the water went over my head” She is describing how she is at peace and the expectations of life for her are put on hold, because she feels so much pressure in her life, to always write, and to look after her family (as described in stanza 3) but now she uses a metaphor, “I am a nun now, I have never been so pure” this reveals that she feels truly at peace and that like a nun she is living a calm life, she wants to be a “nobody” because nuns are all the same, they have no sense of identity, like how Sylvia Plath is known as a writer. She is feeling a sense of freedom, when she is not restricted by society. Stanza 5 “I imagine them shutting their mouths on it, like a Communion tablet” she wants to cleanse everything, her life and herself, to become pure, possibly from her past. She is enjoying the peace in the hospital showing that her life is usually busy. Communion tablet is a references to Church’s, they eat the body of Christ, there is a connection with Christ. She desires to become pure again, what she desires is to be dead, to go to heaven. This could mean dead due to the allusion with Christ.

Stanza 6 This is the personification of the Tulip such as “how I could hear them breathe.” She shows her dislike for the Tulip by using this personification to use imagery to show the extent of her dislike for the Tulip. She is cleverly not just describing the Tulip by confessing how it makes her feel upset (‘upsetting’) and tired by it, a reminder of life and joy. “A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck.” - This is describing the Tulip by how they weigh her down, by how they symbolize life and how she just wants peace. There is emotive language of ‘awful’ and ‘hurt’ The tulips are wrapped in gift paper, they are a gift, perhaps someone gave her them and they are a reminder of her life outside the hospital, they keep reminding her that when she leaves the hospital that she has to live again and this tires her, as revealed, “they weigh me down.” Life reminds her of death, red of blood, negative connotations. She despises the tulips. Stanza 7 She is appearing paranoid, perhaps she feels pressures and expectations by how people are always watching her, due to her writing of poetry and stories as a writer. “The vivid tulips eat my oxygen,” perhaps she is having a panic attack about the expectations of her. “The eyes of the tulips” could be society and how they watch her, she hates the expectations. Imagery drawn to eyes throughout the poem which shows the purpose. Stanza 8 She wants peace and calmness, like death, because she cannot bare the pressure of society on her. This is shown by how the Tulips represents society and life and energy, this is show by the metaphor, “Then the tulips filled it up like a loud noise.” There are negative connotations of a loud noise revealing that she dislikes the business of life and that she just wants peace. What society demands of her is too much. Stanza 9 This is the imagery of the Tulips as a negative object by how she uses similes to describe it as “African Cat.” and this is negative. The Tulips are described to living things to symbolize how they represent life. The personification and metaphor of “They [the tulips] are opening like the mouth of some great African cat…” This reveals that even though she knows she is reluctant about life this reveals that she has conflicting emotions whether to live or to die. There is a shift in mood The Tulips are slowly gradually drawing her back to life, symbolizing that her health is improving. The Tulips reminds her of life outside the hospital. There is a strong desire to escape the expectations, they remind her that we can’t do that. She lives, even though she is reluctant, that “I am aware of my heart; it opens and closes its bowl of red blooms out of sheer love of me.” There is a pull towards life in her inner thoughts Alliteration draws the reader to the shift in mood to a more positive and energising mood, “The water I taste is warm and salt, like the sea, And comes from a country as far away as

health”...