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Imagery In Sylvia Plath's Poetry

1342 Words6 Pages

I wholeheartedly agree that Plath uses stimulating imagery to convey a range of acute emotions, from fear, powerlessness and hopelessness to fascination, control and optimism. While “Child”, “Morning Song”, “Pheasant”, and “The Arrival Of The Bee Box” are all filled with negative emotions, they often end on more positive notes. Plath is, afterall, renowned for conveying a “roller-coaster ride of emotions” throughout her work, as well as for her striking imagery. Much of work is also highly persona; and relates to her real life experience, further bolstering the powerful, occasionally disturbing emotions expressed in her poetry. “Child” conveys Plath’s typical use of provocative imagery and acute emotion. Unlike some of her other works, “Child” opens on a hopeful note, as she describes the child’s eye as the “one absolutely beautiful thing” and her desire to “fill it with colour and ducks”- I found her use of colourful, childish imagery easily showed the hope and optimism at the start of the poem, as well as her unconditional love for her son, Nicholas. In the second stanza, she continues to compare her son to all that is best about the natural world, a fragile flower, a “stalk without wrinkle”- she is fascinated by the child’s innocence, purity. However, this fascination clearly masks a deeper concern, as the fourth and final stanza takes a darker turn- literally, as Plath realizes her child has been born into an imperfect world, “this dark ceiling/ Without a star”. I

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