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In a number of her poems, Sylvia Plath expresses a concern with the need to be in control. The speaker is often invested with power and is placed beside the underlying fear of being over ridden by the 'other'. In order to maintain an author ative position, she confronts with the 'enemy' and ponders on the unknown, leaving readers inexplicably drawn by the experiences described. Yet Plath's other preoccupations are contrary to the investiture of power in the poetic voice, where the main subject is placed at the victimization by the opposition - whether it be a male figure, a baby, an insect or mushroom.
It is also apparent in some of Plath's poetry to begin with a lack of hope which then invert to a simple, affirming statement. Such progressive features appear in the third extract, 'The Arrival of the Beebox'. Upon establishing a description of the 'clean wood box' which appears to be 'square as a chair' and almost 'too heavy to lift', we are immediately presented with a visual that remains consistent throughout the five-line stanzas of the poem. Already there is a sense of struggle or uncertainty with the speaker thinking ironically that 'the box is locked' but is 'dangerous' because she 'can't see what's in there' although she 'ordered' the box of bees. This supports Plath's notion of individual power, but also considers the responsibility that accompanies. As the 'owner' of the box, the speaker 'can't keep away from it'.
It is as if she is expected 'to live with it overnight'. Plath also examines society's expectations of responsibility in 'The Applicant', however, in a different context. The male subject is directly confronted by the company voice, 'Are you our sort of person?' as the starting question of several to befit the role as husband. The repetitive line, 'Will you marry it' and the same words in the last line emphasizes Plath's value in society's attitudes towards wholeness in life, where marriage creates an equilibrium, therefore is the 'last resort'. But in contrast, the speaker in 'The Arrival of the Beebox' has more than one way to overcome her duty to the bees as she does not out rule 'they can die, I need feed them nothing'. Consequently, the speaker restores her power and in personifying 'sweet God', she decides she 'will set them free'.
Readers are left to wonder if one can control the world. While the speaker in the poem clearly professes her dominating role, she is also threatened by the bees - the 'Roman mob'. Her exclamation, 'small, taken one by one, but my god together!' reveal an instinctive fear of being usurped by these 'minute' creatures and supports Plath's concern of invasion. To be even more precise, it suggests that things which appear to be harmless can unpredictably 'dangerous', and preparation is essential. Readers undoubtedly gain a replicated message in 'Mushrooms'. The 3 -line stanzas, shorter-line ends and continuous rhythm may differ from that of 'The Arrival of the Beebox', but similarly demonstrate the power of numbers.
The mushrooms, even though they are 'meek', 'edible' and otherwise seem un threatening, give warning: 'So many of us!' and 'Our kind multiplies: /We shall by morning/Inherit the earth'. They 'discreetly' 'acquire the air' and through the comment, 'no body sees us' provoke feelings of un expectancy, which is similar to the bee keeper's thoughts since 'There are no windows' to the box, 'only a little grid, no exit'. In opposite, the bees are in the 'dark' and 'black on black, angrily climbing' while the mushrooms in this poem are 'very whitely'. Perhaps Plath wanted to show distinctively that those that appear innocent, but in truth, are threatening become more daunting than suspected inflictor's.
However, unlike 'Mushrooms' where the 'perfectly voiceless's ub ject demands 'little or nothing', the bees make 'unintelligible syllables' which evoke the speaker to 'wonder how hungry the are'. This places her readily under the control of the 'other'. In 'Wintering', the speaker, also a beekeeper, has already surrendered with, 'it is they who own me', to which the bees also 'ball in a mass' in a black image 'against all that white' of the snow. The connection shared with mushrooms is the impression of minimal activity and the silence, but as readers can see, this does not diminish the threat.
In other poems, those that have gained control are pronounced with noise, as in 'Morning Song'. The baby's power in the poem exemplifies through its 'one cry', causing the speaker who admits: 'I'm no more your mother' to 'stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral'. The baby's 'handful of notes' 'rise like balloons' which becomes a sense of triumph for it as the mother loses her control over the baby. It is common in Plath's poems for the last lines to end in a statement of success.
We come across this notion in 'The Arrival of the Beebox'. The speaker, after engaging in fear of being over throne, reasserts her authority by stating that 'the box is only temporary'. Even in 'Mushrooms' the indication of continual rising is clear with 'Our foot's in the door'. In 'Lady Lazarus', though the speaker repeatedly fails in her suicidal attempts, she announces: 'Out of the ash, I rise with my red hair'. Conceivably, Plath explored feelings of anxiety and struggle to comfort herself. In the same manner, she leaves an affirming message to readers as a means of restoring power.
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Research essay sample on the Arrival Of The Beebox Arrival Of The Beebox Speaker
