“Maudlin”: The Monthly Curse
Of all the work in the 1956 section of The Collected Poems, “Maudlin” may be the one closest to Plath’s autobiography. However, this poem was probably written in 1959. After all, Plath wrote in her journals on May 25, 1959, “My Maudlin poem is a prophetic little piece. I get the pleasure of a prayer […]
“Ella Mason and Her Eleven Cats”: Cat Houses In The News
Plath wrote “Ella Mason and Her Eleven Cats” on June 2, 1956, per her pocket calendar. Plath spoke a bit of French, and the very near-homophone la maison translates to “the house.” This is less a poem about an animal hoarder, and more explicitly about a cat house, or a brothel. This subject was all […]
“The Beggars”: Neighboring Countries on Hard Times
“The Beggars” is one of Plath’s poems seemingly set in Benidorm, Spain. If Plath had been reading the newspapers from home, which Aurelia might have sent, she would have seen that a new version of Faust opened at the Theatre on the Green in Wellesley, running July through August. In an article entitled, “The Beggar’s Opera,” the […]
“Fiesta Melons”: Pin-up Pumpkins and Hollywood Honeydew
Plath loved Hollywood. Hollywood in 1956 was full of pin-up girls: Liz Taylor was the star of the moment with her movie, Giant. Marilyn Monroe starred in Bus Stop. Deborah Kerr was back with The King and I, and Jayne Mansfield became famous with The Girl Can’t Help It. Carroll Baker, Anita Ekberg, Sheree North, […]
“Wreath for a Bridal”: the Dysfunctional Marriage of Nations
Plath’s poem “Wreath for a Bridal” was written on May 17, 1956 and is often read strictly discussing marriage and physical union. That is of course a small part of Plath’s meaning, but as with so many of her poems, it is more substantial than simply her own autobiography. It should not be overlooked that […]
“The Shrike”: Relentless Ambition
Pictured: A scene with “Mrs. Shrike” from “Shopping for Death” by Ray Bradbury, an episode on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The Shrike bird might have metaphorically flown to the height of its popularity in 1956. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Air Force One was a Shrike U4-B (“The singular air”). That same year, the television program Alfred […]
“Recantation”: An Incantation of Political Disgust
“Recantation” is an undated poem, but considering Britain’s stance regarding 1956’s crisis in the Suez, the French in Algeria, and the Hungarian Revolution, Sylvia Plath was angry at the United Kingdom too. In “Recantation,” she recants her new-found allegiance to her husband’s country in disgust over the Cold War politics, playing upon the idea of […]
“Dialogue Between Ghost and Priest,” “Monologue at 3 a.m.,” “The Glutton,” and “November Graveyard”: The Emotional Weight of National Guilt
Pictured: The New Yorker’s celebrated editor, William Shawn Plath’s poem, “Dialogue Between Ghost and Priest” talks of the “black November” in the year of 1956 which severely escalated the Cold War. The character of “Father Shawn” may well be the editor of The New Yorker at the time, William Shawn. As an editor, Shawn seemed […]
“Street Song”: Double Jeopardy
Pictured: Emmett Till in the 1956 newspaper headlines Judging from poems such as “Street Song,” Plath seemed to view herself as very blessed, coming from madness intact and in love, but never forgetting her past. This is the most obvious interpretation of “Street Song.” A closer look at the poem, written on October 4, 1956, […]
“Epitaph for Fire and Flower”: Death of the Hollywood Marriage(s)
The poem “Epitaph for Fire and Flower” began on the beach at Benidorm on August 18, 1956. Plath’s pocket calendar titled it by its first line: “You might as well string up.” By the next day, she had given it its final name. Plath had begun reading William Shakespeare’s romp about containing masculine sexual desire […]