Hey Guys, I have a Module A essay on Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes due in a few days and the question given was: Context is at the heart of how and why poets write poetry.
To what extent does this statement reflect your understanding of the textual conversation between ‘Ariel’ and ‘Birthday Letters’?
I just required some feedback on what I have so far:
Context shapes the intent of a poet’s work and bridges the gap between authors and the responders. Sylvia Plath’s posthumously publish Ariel (1965) and Ted Hughes’s Birthday Letters(1998) execute a confessional textual conversation reflecting upon the mutual concerns with identity and relationships complicated by sexual politics and the shadow of the Second World War on the modern world. The oppressive societal nature along with personal sufferance of trauma weaves together Plath’s iconic Cold-War era narrative depicted in Ariel which utilises the post-war literary mode of confessional poetry as a means of representing her victimised-self. Shaped by the postmodern notion of the subjectivity of truth, Hughes’s Birthday Letters acts as a response to Plath’s suicide and reframes the public perceptions shaped by her poetry through the provision of mythopoeic accounts of episodes from their complex relationship. Through the confessional textual conversation taking place between each suite, responders are enforced to understand the distinct influence of context in shaping the purpose and values.
The intimate textual conversation taking place between Plath and Hughes displays the distinct influence of context in shaping purpose and values through the dissonant utilisation of personal and universal sufferings and experiences to address issues and values. Plath’s literary pieces ‘Lady Lazarus’ and ‘Daddy’ part of the Ariel set make use of a female persona in an act of response to the patriarchal societal norms and values during the 1950’s and 1960’s Cold-War Era. The intimate use of confessional poetry along with evocative metaphorical descriptions act as a potent device assisting the criticism of a male-dominated society. ‘Daddy’ utilises the intimate components of confessional poetry through the use of Holocaust allusion, “ Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen” comparing the intense emotional suffering of the feminine self in a patriarchal society to the horror of a mass genocide. The controversial use of taboo arouses disturbing feelings of horror and confusion in the responder and communicates suffering and victimhood on a realm of universal understanding offering her perspective on the social victimisation of women. ‘Lady Lazarus’ also utilises the controversial use of holocaust imagery “ My face a featureless, fine Jew linen” highlighting how profound and detrimental oppression can be to the feminine individual as it strips the person of their identity and the ability to express themselves. Plath further draws upon her personal experiences with victimhood and female exploitation representing her anger against a male-dominated society in ‘Daddy’ which represents the ambivalent relationship between her deceased father Otto Plath and the daughter. She expresses her father as a symbolism of patriarchy and refers to him as a “Nazi” due to his German background which further alludes to Holocaust as the daughter is signified as the victim tortured and deprived of her self-identity as those Jews were deprived of their houses, belongings and identities. She also metaphorically compares herself to a foot in her fathers “black shoe” in which she has lived in for “thirty years” which shows her confinement in an enclosed black space, deprived of freedom in movement and improvement, dramatizing her powerlessness and helplessness under patriarchy. The representation of the feminine-self trapped under male dominance is apparent through the referral of Hughes as the “The Vampire” who drank her “blood for a year, Seven years”. Thus, the distinct social and personal influences shaping Plath’s work can be seen through the utilisation of personal sufferings and patriarchal societal nature in shaping her work to draw attention to social norms and values on a heightened level of universal experience ,inviting a sense of sympathy in the responders towards the victimisation of both Plath and the feminine identity.
Whereas, Hughes’s Birthday Letters utilises his personal experiences to address the public image shaped by Plath’s poetry on his role in her personal sufferings. The second-wave feminism during the 1960’s-1980’s influenced the public perceptions of Plath’s suicide and accused Hughes as the cause of her death, which led to the receival of widespread criticism and unsympathetic attention in relation to his relationship with Plath. It is through Birthday Letters that Hughes challenges the responder’s and social perceptions on Plath as the ‘abused’ and himself as the ‘abuser’. His piece ‘The Shot’ explores his perspective on the motivation of Plath’s psychology, in her Electra-like fixation on her father and engages in an intertextual conversation with ‘Daddy’ which complies as evidence supporting his perspective. Hughes creates an extended metaphor describing Plath as a “gold-jacketed, solid silver, Nickel-tipped” bullet which was shot when her father’s death “pulled the trigger” describing Plath as a bullet being which was triggered by her father’s death, which conveys her mental instability being triggered due to her father’s death. This establishes her psychological problems were triggered at a young age when due to Otto’s death and indicates Hughes’s helplessness in the face of her pre-determined psychosis. His use of imagery and metaphor constructs ballistic images of the trajectory of a bullet aimed at her father “The god with the smoking gun” who set the course for Plath’s tragic life. Hughes sets himself up as a victim on the path of this bullet which “had gone clean through” him. Further, readers are drawn upon Hughes representation of himself as helpless and lacking the supernatural powers only “ the right witchdoctor” would possess to forestall her inevitable suicide. Furthermore, in ‘Fever’, Hughes constructs an extended metaphor of Plath’s mental illness as “a fever” and “a real ailment” which he had to nurse “hour-by-hour” by being a constant care giver. This challenges the representation of victimhood under patriarchy shown in Plath’s poetry .Therefore through the utilisation of personal sufferings and experiences, Hughes challenges the feminist interpretation of his role in Plath’s suicide and positions the responders to reassess the binary of himself as ‘abuser’ and Plath the victim.
I haven't made a conclusion yet. I'm also wondering whether I should cut down the paragraphs and add another paragraph which discusses the resonating themes such as composer style, etc. but am unsure of how to connect this with the importance of context and the word count is 1100 and I am currently already hitting 1000. Any feedback on points I may have missed out or must include or remove would be very helpful and highly appreciated. Thankyou:)
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Topic: ENG ADV-MODULE A ESSAY (Plath and Hughes) (Read 12449 times)