In what ways has your understanding of both texts been enhanced by your consideration of the common

and disparate issues revealed in the poetry of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
Inverted
The textual conversations between Sylvia Plath's and Ted Hughes’ poetry enhanced my understanding of comma for
both texts by displaying disparate portrayals of their marriage making us consider the writer’s dissonant title?
viewpoints. In Plath’s poems ‘Daddy’ and ‘A Birthday Present’ in Ariel, Plath criticises the patriarchal What
influences and domestic expectations which drove her to view death as the only means of freedom for feminist
backlash?
her. Conversely, Hughes uses ‘The Shot’ and ‘Red in Birthday letters, to confront the feminist backlash
by revealing that her? Sylvia”s obsessive and psychotic personality led her to suicide. By comparing the Are these
resonances and dissonances in these texts it is evident that personal context shapes one’s perception of the words in
reality. Full stop State the social and political
the
 The question is asking for YOUR understanding. question?
contexts of these poems –
date and place
Plath’s ‘Daddy’ presents her urge for freedom from the patriarchal society by exploring her desire to free
herself from the traumatic male influence that dominated her personal context. The premature death of
her father Otto when she was eight years old fostered a sense of grief that hindered her ability to relate to
men throughout her life.This contextual influence is depicted in the simile “black shoe in which I have
lived like a foot … a bag full of god” which alludes to Plath’s persistent worshiping of her father which
entraps her in a childish perception of their relationship. She then positions herself as a victim of the
neglectful characteristics manifested in Otto by contrasting her persona, “I may be a bit of a Jew”, with
the historical allusion of Otto as her Nazi torturer, “Aryan eye … Panzer-man”, to frame Otto’s brutality
in restricting her freedom. Plath’s characterisation of Hughes as a “model of [Otto]” with the same
villainising Nazi imagery, “a man in black with a Meinkampf look”, reflects how being a victim to men
was a recurrent and significant aspect of her personal context. She thus resolves to liberate herself from
the controlling voices of the men in her life, “the voices just can’t worm through”, which she achieves by
metaphorically murdering her two oppressors, “If I’ve killed one man, I’ve killed two”. Therefore,
‘Daddy’ reflects how the controlling patriarchal influences in Plath’s life shaped her desire for freedom
away from the male figures in her life.

Again… link back to the question change / affect your understanding of her messages? Are they
common? Or do they reflect a more disparate view of life?

While Plath presents herself as a feminist liberating herself from male oppression, Hughes uses ‘The
Shot’ to argue that it was Plath’s innately obsessive character, rather than the men around her, that drove
her to suicide. Hughes published ‘Birthday Letters’ during the second-wave feminist movement to
assuage public backlash accusing him of driving Plath to suicide. Hughes disputes these accusations with
the juxtaposition, “Ordinary jocks became gods deified by your infatuation”, criticising Plath’s trauma as
a result of her idolising and worshipping men rather than reflect upon his own position instead of his and
failure being her husband. Additionally, Hughes describes Plath’s death as fate, as he alludes to Otto’s
death as initiating Plath’s inevitable path of self-destruction in the metaphor “When his death touched the
trigger … you were undeflected … trajectory perfect”. This conflicts with Plath’s perception of reality in
‘Daddy’ where Hughes was an abusive partner who was “the black man who bit my pretty red heart in
two” and exacerbated her own suicidal desires by engaging in infidelity. Ultimately, Hughes responds to
the backlash against him by suggesting that he is in fact the victim metaphorically commenting that
“vague as a mist, I did not even know I had been hit” where he characterises himself as an innocent
bystander, who that was unaware of Plath’s obsessive nature. Therefore ‘The Shot’ reveals how the public
blame placed upon Hughes led him to reveal Plath’s true nature and represent her own personality as the
true oppressor, deepening our understanding of both texts.
Yes, but what is your understanding now of Hughes? In a post-modern world would we understand now
that his attitude was not one of empathy and care, but more one of control where his reputation is not
tarnished?

In ‘A Birthday Present’, Plath presents how not only because of the men in her personal life, but also the
broader domestic expectations of her patriarchal context, drove her to suicide in her attempt to escape
these roles. Plath criticises the gender roles of 1950s Western culture as she felt stifled by the expectation
This
for women “to get married, have children, be homemakers” (Lauren Zane). Plath mocks the monotony of
should
the domestic constraints in the repetition, “Measuring the flour … adhering to rules, to rules, to rules”, have been
ridiculing the societal norms that trap her in the house. Plath argues that these expectations were so explained
oppressive that they degraded her will to live, “can you not give it to me? … I do not mind if it is small” much
in which the rhetorical question conveys her growing acknowledgement that death is the only escape from earlier –
even in
her domestic role. Additionally, the personification of death in: “It stands at my window, as big as the your intro
sky” expresses how her desire for death has become so intense that it is omnipresent in her mind.
Finally, the simile in “let the knife not carve, but enter pure and clean as the cry of a baby” reinforces
Plath’s perspective of death as a euphoric process of rebirth capable of freeing her from the confines of
domesticity. Thus Plath presents her version of reality where her continued submission to monotonous
domestic tasks drove her to view death as her only escape.
Include your own comments about your understanding … was this really the case for her? What other
options may she have had? Could she rely upon her husband?

Whilst Plath’s representation of death frees her from domesticity, Hughes uses ‘Red’ to reframe Plath’s
perspective and illustrate that her desire for death arose from her obsessive personality and inability to
appreciate motherhood. Hughes subverts Plath’s use of colour imagery and parodies her 1964 letter, “I’m
sure a red carpet would keep me forever optimistic” to symbolise her emotional duality. How? Hughes
attaches a violent read red colour motif to Plath to symbolise how her talent came at the expense of an
angry, obsessive character: “Red was your colour … blood red”. Hughes extends this red motif “when
you had your way finally, our room was red. A judgement chamber” representing how Plath’s
obsessiveness damaged her capacity for intimacy. Hughes juxtaposes the morbid aspects of Plath’s
personality with the positive facets of her life in the metaphor “Blue was better for you … folded your
pregnancy”. The blue motif symbolises hope and the future characterising motherhood as a time of
serenity for Plath. This Subverts Plath’s perception of her stifling domestic role, “measuring the flour…
adhering to rules,” and offers his?? own shifted perspective that Plath was unable to see past the
monotony of her domestic duties and recognise motherhood as a source of hope. Finally, Hughes
expresses his regret that Plath failed to value such positives in the metaphor “But the jewel you lost was
blue”, suggesting Plath's obsession with death ultimately caused her to devalue her own family.
Therefore, Hughes presents his version of reality where Plath’s demise arose from her obsessive
personality and inability to appreciate motherhood, enhancing our understanding of both texts.
Therefore, the textual conversations between Plath and Hughes reveal both Plath’s tragic decline to
suicide and Hughes’ struggle to regain dignity after her death. Whilst proclaiming their own perceptions
of truth the common and disparate issues allow a deeper understanding of both their texts.

You need to include a much deeper and empathetic understanding of the question.
Your analysis of the poems is good, as is your ability to annotate the ideas presented in these poems.
Now keep your eye on the question and try dig deeper into what it is really asking you to explain.