Discovery ideas for 'Cut' by Sylvia Plath?

[twiggy]

Hi, this is my first post here and I'm currently trying to choose my related text for AOS, (just started HSC course, I'm in pathways) - I really love the poetry of Sylvia Plath and could use some help really fleshing out the ideas surrounding discovery in the poem 'Cut' - I've read it a bunch of times and have exhausted online resources but just need to some fresh perspectives from you smart people.

Thankyou!!

The poem -




For Susan O'Neill Roe

What a thrill ---
My thumb instead of an onion.
The top quite gone
Except for a sort of a hinge

Of skin,
A flap like a hat,
Dead white.
Then that red plush.

Little pilgrim,
The Indian's axed your scalp.
Your turkey wattle
Carpet rolls

Straight from the heart.
I step on it,
Clutching my bottle
Of pink fizz.

A celebration, this is.
Out of a gap
A million soldiers run,
Redcoats, every one.

Whose side are they on?
O my
Homunculus, I am ill.
I have taken a pill to kill

The thin
Papery feeling.
Saboteur,
Kamikaze man ---

The stain on your
Gauze Ku Klux Klan
Babushka
Darkens and tarnishes and when

The balled
Pulp of your heart
Confronts its small
Mill of silence

How you jump ---
Trepanned veteran,
Dirty girl,
Thumb stump.

[angewina_naguen]

Hey, there!

Welcome to ATARNOTES  I look forward to seeing you contribute on the forum. I'm currently studying Plath in Extension 1 so I have a little idea of her writing style and the background behind her poetry. You've chosen a lovely poem of hers!

I have attached only a few annotations for you which I hope will be useful. I broke down key parts of the poem that I personally liked and could relate Discovery best to in order to give you a rough idea of how you could approach analysis for AOS.

In terms of resources, there is a very low likelihood you will be able to find a sample essay that compares both your prescribed and related texts. I would recommend reading some band 5/6 essays on 'The Tempest' anyway just to see how other people have written about your prescribed and how they might have linked their related so you can adopt similar methods of synthesis.

To enhance your analysis on Plath, have a look at her context and her personal life to see how her discoveries that are explored in this poem impact you as a reader. Resources worth investing in would be John Green's Crash Course Literature on her, which actually looks at 'Cut' quite briefly, and interviews that you might be able to search for online from her where she discusses her poetic craft and intentions. They can offer you new ways of looking at her poetry and enhance your understanding of her work which you can take into account when discussing her relevance to Discovery.

I hope this helps and let me know below how things go  Have a good day!

Angelina