Thank you for this. It's a pleasure to read your academic pieces as you write with a clarity like sunlight through leaves. I enjoy these immensely; this one in particular because I have four hives and know nothing of Plath's encounters with them.
Wowzer. The way you've opened this, and wrapped it up again, it's just so good!!
When I became enamored of poetry a few years back, I read a bit of Plath's work but must admit I wasn't 'getting' it. Your piece here inspires me to dive in again; give her another try. I have her Ariel, Collected Poems and The Colossus as well as The Bell Jar. Do you have an opinion as to where I should re-begin?
A really thoughtful essay. It's obvious you've put a lot of thought into your assessment of a poet you clearly admire. I'm so glad you've shared this with us!
Thank you! I actually started with her journals and letters. Then I think I went to Ariel. I wouldn’t say she’s always the most likable person in her journals, but she is complex and fascinating (for example, her journal entries often contrast starkly with her letters). They gave me a bit of context about the poetry and helped me to ‘place’ it, which I think enhanced my enjoyment of it.
I shall go to read those poems now. Plath has thus far escaped my fullest gaze. I have glimpsed her work before but was disturbed too much by it. Maybe time to look again.
I can understand that. They’re not necessarily the easiest to read. ‘The Arrival of the Bee Box’ is quite horrific and colonial in places. But they have an energy that I enjoy, and they were fun to analyse!
Have you read her journal entries during this period? On one occasion, she lacked proper protection when visiting a friend to learn more about beekeeping. It was fascinating to see the correlations between people encountered in her journals informing the language used in her poetry.
Some initial beekeeper entries are in Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
In reading her bee poems, I was so enchanted by the line: "I have simply ordered a box of maniacs."
And you dissected it perfectly -
"The threat is sealed but intimate: unseeable, unknowable, and yet inescapably close. Plath renders psychological terror as confinement: a space without windows, without exit, where something swarms just out of sight. The speaker is both jailer and captive, drawn to the danger she cannot name. It’s a metaphor not just for madness but for the lure of what language can’t quite hold."
She goes on - "They can be sent back.
They can die, I need feed them nothing, I am the owner."
But she does not send them back. She is, as you put it, jailer and captive. Instead, with the help of these maniacs, she makes honey.
I love your engagement with great writing - and Plath is certainly that. And I love your engagement with bees - that spoonful of kindness... I have done that when a bee has inadvertantly overnighted in the conservatory. xxx
This is great. I LOVE these poems so much. When I was in grad school, I did a rhetorical analysis of Plath's Bee poems. I ended up focusing on color and I expected that color to be black. It wasn't. The bee poems are awash with white. I was surprised and curious and fell in love with the poems ever more. Naked as a chicken neck. Get me every time.
It was remarkable for me. And I think of them a bit differently. Recently I saw where she intended to end Ariel with the Wintering poem, which is a kind of hopeful note.
Thank you for this. It's a pleasure to read your academic pieces as you write with a clarity like sunlight through leaves. I enjoy these immensely; this one in particular because I have four hives and know nothing of Plath's encounters with them.
It was your comment about keeping hives that made me think of her again! And thank you.
Oh that's right, I mentioned them! Well I'm glad then, this was lovely as usual. 💕
fantastic... i would read an entire book of your essays on plath
Thanks Kostas!
yo! i’d sit in your comparative lit class any day. this is marvelous!
Thank you, Pen!
Oh, and I love it that Plath and Sexton where both keeping bees and corresponding about it.
Wowzer. The way you've opened this, and wrapped it up again, it's just so good!!
When I became enamored of poetry a few years back, I read a bit of Plath's work but must admit I wasn't 'getting' it. Your piece here inspires me to dive in again; give her another try. I have her Ariel, Collected Poems and The Colossus as well as The Bell Jar. Do you have an opinion as to where I should re-begin?
A really thoughtful essay. It's obvious you've put a lot of thought into your assessment of a poet you clearly admire. I'm so glad you've shared this with us!
Thank you! I actually started with her journals and letters. Then I think I went to Ariel. I wouldn’t say she’s always the most likable person in her journals, but she is complex and fascinating (for example, her journal entries often contrast starkly with her letters). They gave me a bit of context about the poetry and helped me to ‘place’ it, which I think enhanced my enjoyment of it.
Her collection of poems sits on my desk as I write this!
I like that.
🖤🖤🖤
i love this
Thank you! 🤍
I shall go to read those poems now. Plath has thus far escaped my fullest gaze. I have glimpsed her work before but was disturbed too much by it. Maybe time to look again.
I can understand that. They’re not necessarily the easiest to read. ‘The Arrival of the Bee Box’ is quite horrific and colonial in places. But they have an energy that I enjoy, and they were fun to analyse!
so powerful and insightful. i feel fed 🐝🖤✨
Thank you lovely 🖤
Have you read her journal entries during this period? On one occasion, she lacked proper protection when visiting a friend to learn more about beekeeping. It was fascinating to see the correlations between people encountered in her journals informing the language used in her poetry.
Some initial beekeeper entries are in Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
I read them a long, long time ago. I can’t remember much from them. They’re on the shelf in front of me though, so I’ll take a look!
Yes! I reread last summer and it was as new. Also, the freezing winter where everyone seemed to be making do. How fragile we can become. 🕯️
I love this.
In reading her bee poems, I was so enchanted by the line: "I have simply ordered a box of maniacs."
And you dissected it perfectly -
"The threat is sealed but intimate: unseeable, unknowable, and yet inescapably close. Plath renders psychological terror as confinement: a space without windows, without exit, where something swarms just out of sight. The speaker is both jailer and captive, drawn to the danger she cannot name. It’s a metaphor not just for madness but for the lure of what language can’t quite hold."
She goes on - "They can be sent back.
They can die, I need feed them nothing, I am the owner."
But she does not send them back. She is, as you put it, jailer and captive. Instead, with the help of these maniacs, she makes honey.
That line is so brilliant, yes! And thank you 🤍
I love your engagement with great writing - and Plath is certainly that. And I love your engagement with bees - that spoonful of kindness... I have done that when a bee has inadvertantly overnighted in the conservatory. xxx
Thanks Douglas! It’s lovely when they perk up quickly from the sugar. 🤍
It’s like a small miracle and you’re the person that worked that miracle! xxx
This is great. I LOVE these poems so much. When I was in grad school, I did a rhetorical analysis of Plath's Bee poems. I ended up focusing on color and I expected that color to be black. It wasn't. The bee poems are awash with white. I was surprised and curious and fell in love with the poems ever more. Naked as a chicken neck. Get me every time.
Thank you! I’m going to have to go back and look at them again with white in mind now.
It was remarkable for me. And I think of them a bit differently. Recently I saw where she intended to end Ariel with the Wintering poem, which is a kind of hopeful note.
Oh! Interesting.
I ran into her poem long ago, maybe in the 1970s. I did not have a chance to read all of her poem. I loved a few of them Thanks for a fresh reminder.
Thanks for reading :)
I really like “Wintering”—it puts me in that mind place I like to call home.
That’s definitely the most peaceful of these poems!
Yes and it has that line about a woman knitting and not being able to think—it makes you feel sad for just the right reasons.