The Rabbit Catcher – Sylvia Plath (quote annotations)
"the absence of shrieks" - the rabbits may be dead or are suffering in silence, this can
be parallelled to the persona and her emotional state or inability to break free from her
distress
"glassy light was a clear wall" - metaphor: describes persona’s imprisoned state, can
imply her urgency to detach from her toxic relationship
"we, too, had a relationship" - past tense: persona is still not over the relationship and
cannot simply let it go, relationship is deep rooted in her
"tight wires between us" - reference to the trapping of the rabbits: metaphorically
states that the permanent bonds between the persona and her man in her life makes
her powerless to escape from him
"pegs too deep to uproot" - metaphor: the depth and strength of the bonds between
her and the man prevents her from escaping from him
"mind like a ring" - simile: circular snares causing suffering to the rabbits which
compares to a wedding ring, indicating male control over a woman in marriage, which
overtime becomes confining for the woman
"the construction killing me also" - central concern of the poem: just as the snares
brutally kill the rabbits and slowly suffocate them, the confined marriage the persona is
in will overtime become suffocating and constructive towards her, therefore ''killing'' her
"birth pangs" - the snares kill the rabbits leading to pain and suffering, closely aligning
with the responsibilities of motherhood and/or pregnancy on many women
"it was a place of force" - opening line: the speaker is overpowered by the elements
contained in this landscape/relationship - a physical sense of confinement and distress
"wind gagging my mouth" - personification: this natural element is described to have a
physical human force, causing her to be unable to express herself and voice her
opinions, similar to her role in her relationship
"tearing off my voice" – persona is unable to voice her thoughts in this relationship due
to the constraining nature of both the physical setting and her relationship
"spreading like oil" - simile: shows an image of corruption of the environment, persona
is unable to appreciate the beauty due to her current state of mind
"tasted the malignity of the gorse" – 'malignity' brings to mind the idea of cruel intent
and suffering. persona feels inescapable even in a free, open landscape
"the absence of shrieks" - the rabbits may be dead or are suffering in silence, this can
be parallelled to the persona and her emotional state or inability to break free from her
distress
"glassy light was a clear wall" - metaphor: describes persona’s imprisoned state, can
imply her urgency to detach from her toxic relationship
"we, too, had a relationship" - past tense: persona is still not over the relationship and
cannot simply let it go, relationship is deep rooted in her
"tight wires between us" - reference to the trapping of the rabbits: metaphorically
states that the permanent bonds between the persona and her man in her life makes
her powerless to escape from him
"pegs too deep to uproot" - metaphor: the depth and strength of the bonds between
her and the man prevents her from escaping from him
"mind like a ring" - simile: circular snares causing suffering to the rabbits which
compares to a wedding ring, indicating male control over a woman in marriage, which
overtime becomes confining for the woman
"the construction killing me also" - central concern of the poem: just as the snares
brutally kill the rabbits and slowly suffocate them, the confined marriage the persona is
in will overtime become suffocating and constructive towards her, therefore ''killing'' her
"birth pangs" - the snares kill the rabbits leading to pain and suffering, closely aligning
with the responsibilities of motherhood and/or pregnancy on many women
"it was a place of force" - opening line: the speaker is overpowered by the elements
contained in this landscape/relationship - a physical sense of confinement and distress
"wind gagging my mouth" - personification: this natural element is described to have a
physical human force, causing her to be unable to express herself and voice her
opinions, similar to her role in her relationship
"tearing off my voice" – persona is unable to voice her thoughts in this relationship due
to the constraining nature of both the physical setting and her relationship
"spreading like oil" - simile: shows an image of corruption of the environment, persona
is unable to appreciate the beauty due to her current state of mind
"tasted the malignity of the gorse" – 'malignity' brings to mind the idea of cruel intent
and suffering. persona feels inescapable even in a free, open landscape
