“Their presentation of women is frequently problematic”
Poem ‘Her Husband’
‘LoveSong’
‘Edge’
By Candlelight’
Quotes “Let her learn”, “obligations”, “humble her”, “nothing more is heard of
it”, “stubborn character of money”
“Spider bites”, “assassin's attempts”, “lawyers steadily writing”, “they
took each other hostage”, “they wore each other’s face”
“Greek necessity”, “rose close”, “milk, now empty”, “deep throats”,
“Edge”
“Keeps the sky at bay”, “Sack of black”, “tight, tight”, “poor heirloom”,
“cannonballs”
Analysis Both poets explore different aspects of women’s lives. Marriage and
children, Hughes explores the reality of women’s lives in marriage.
Plath explores the mental suffering of women when they have
children.
‘Edge’ displays women as on the edge mentally, vengeful. ‘Lovesong’
displays women as vengeful. Motherhood is linked to creation and
destruction.
Both of Plath’s poems explore mental health suffering through the
characters of women.
Critics Hughes- “life as a fierce relentless cycle”-Lorna Sage
“Violent primitive imagery”- Terry Eagleton
Plath- “mirror held up to the darkest parts of human experience”-
Margaret Atwood
“Cut straight to the heart of human emotion”- Al Alvarez
Context Hughes born 1934- life at that time. Work in the pits is common.
Representation of working-class womanhood. Rape legal in marriage
up until 1990’s.
Marriage to Plath was turbulent and passionate. The poem can be
seen as a reflection of the emotional intensity of their marriage.
Published 1963- close to the last poem Plath wrote. Plath had a long
history of mental health struggle, reflection of her inner turmoil, having
reached the end of emotional/psychological endurance.
During this period Plath was struggling mentally, internal conflict
during this period, complexities of motherhood and identity.
, ‘How far do you agree that Hughes and Plath are alike in the ways they
present nature to convey thoughts and feelings?’
Poems ‘Rain’
‘Wind’
‘Suicide off Egg Rock’
‘Wuthering Heights’
Quotes ‘Bending in one direction’
‘Beaten off, brains and bowels beaten out’
‘Beached with the seas garbage’, forgetful surf’
‘Blinding wet’, ‘stampeding’
Analysis Both rain and wind depict nature as hostile and unforgiving, also evident
in Plath’s poetry.
Dismal, relentless, oppressive rain. Bones being washed away. Plosive
phonology. Violent continuous verbs, strong verbs moving out of control.
Critics Hughes- Heaney “brutal energies of the natural world”
Plath- Rosenthal “raw, dangerous, and shockingly honest”
Context Hughes grew up in the harsh British landscape, Moors of Yorkshire.
Nature as destructive and the vulnerability of humans. Sense of survival
and dread.
A place off the coast of Massachusttes. Early signs of suicidal ideation.
Death and oblivion.
Written when Plath lived in Yorkshire with her husband Ted Hughes.
Fascinated by the Moors and the landscape. Inspired by Emily Bronte’s
novel. Inner turmoil, emotional isolation, trapped, suffocated.
‘How far do you agree that Hughes and Plath are alike in the ways in
which they depict violence? You must analyse in detail at least two poems
from each of your set texts’.
Poems ‘Rain’
‘Lovesong’
‘Cut’
‘Edge’
Quotes ‘Drumming’ ‘drumming’, ‘dull roof-drumming’, ‘pulsing across purple’,
‘beaten off brains and bowels beaten out’
‘Bit’, ‘gnawed’, ‘sucked’, ‘spider bites’, ‘sinews’, ‘love knot’, ‘screams’,
‘nailed’, ‘print him into her bones’.
‘What a thrill’, ‘thumb instead of an onion’, ‘saboteur’, ‘kamikaze’,
‘trepanned veteran’, ‘turkey wattle’, ‘red coats’
‘Greek accomplishment’, ‘deep throats’, ‘odors bleed’, ‘back into her
, body/Of a rose close’
Analysis Hughes explores violence in nature as well as in relationships. Plath
explores violence on a more psychological and self harming level.
Rain- overall dismal, relentless and oppressive rain. Oppressive and
plosive phonology echoing the rain. Emphasises continuous pounding of
the rain. Plosive sounds, decayed bones being washed away.
Lovesong- lexis to suggest eating and digestion. Jesus’ crucifixion,
suggests ownership. Spider eats her mate. No punctuation, separate
entities complete identity. What keeps your body together is unraveled.
End suggests they are interchangeable, just as bad as each other. All
consuming verbs, toxic and unhealthy relationships
Cut- Detail suggests fascination. American historical details. Colourful and
vivid imagery. Shocking and brutal imagery. Suicide references and self
harm. Died for their country (honour), a person who engages in sabotage.
Self loathing and telling herself off. Pace suggests thrill and excitement,
brutal imagery. Detached but also fascinated, childlike quality to
references. American references.
Edge- Suicide after killing her children. Published 1963, close to the last
poem she wrote. On the edge mentally, knife, pain. Taking life as opposed
to giving life. Killing is an unavoidable necessity.
Critics Hughes- Sagar “life and death, creation and destruction”
Plath- Rosenthal “raw, dangerous and shockingly honest”
Context Rain depicts Hughes’ childhood growing up in the Yorkshire Moors, harsh
landscape. Brutal weather conditions. Power of nature, elemental force,
human vulnerability.
Widely understood to be a depiction of his intense relationship with Sylvia
Plath. Passionate, volatile, and unhealthy. Violence, control, self
destruction. Mutual obsession.
Shows her fascination with self harm, detached tone to what has actually
happened. Strangely intimate and fascinating response to self-harm. Plath
had a documented history of depression and suicide attempt. Portrays
inner turmoil of self-harm.
Last poem she wrote. Living in London during a brutal winter with her
children, isolated and mentally deteriorating. The poem reads like a
farewell, could not go on any longer.
How far do you agree they are alike in the ways that they depict
landscape?
Poems ‘Dick Straightup’
‘Cock Crows
‘Wuthering Heights’
‘Suicide Off Egg Rock’
Quotes “Windy ridge”, “nourished by stone and height”, “graveyard bigger and
Poem ‘Her Husband’
‘LoveSong’
‘Edge’
By Candlelight’
Quotes “Let her learn”, “obligations”, “humble her”, “nothing more is heard of
it”, “stubborn character of money”
“Spider bites”, “assassin's attempts”, “lawyers steadily writing”, “they
took each other hostage”, “they wore each other’s face”
“Greek necessity”, “rose close”, “milk, now empty”, “deep throats”,
“Edge”
“Keeps the sky at bay”, “Sack of black”, “tight, tight”, “poor heirloom”,
“cannonballs”
Analysis Both poets explore different aspects of women’s lives. Marriage and
children, Hughes explores the reality of women’s lives in marriage.
Plath explores the mental suffering of women when they have
children.
‘Edge’ displays women as on the edge mentally, vengeful. ‘Lovesong’
displays women as vengeful. Motherhood is linked to creation and
destruction.
Both of Plath’s poems explore mental health suffering through the
characters of women.
Critics Hughes- “life as a fierce relentless cycle”-Lorna Sage
“Violent primitive imagery”- Terry Eagleton
Plath- “mirror held up to the darkest parts of human experience”-
Margaret Atwood
“Cut straight to the heart of human emotion”- Al Alvarez
Context Hughes born 1934- life at that time. Work in the pits is common.
Representation of working-class womanhood. Rape legal in marriage
up until 1990’s.
Marriage to Plath was turbulent and passionate. The poem can be
seen as a reflection of the emotional intensity of their marriage.
Published 1963- close to the last poem Plath wrote. Plath had a long
history of mental health struggle, reflection of her inner turmoil, having
reached the end of emotional/psychological endurance.
During this period Plath was struggling mentally, internal conflict
during this period, complexities of motherhood and identity.
, ‘How far do you agree that Hughes and Plath are alike in the ways they
present nature to convey thoughts and feelings?’
Poems ‘Rain’
‘Wind’
‘Suicide off Egg Rock’
‘Wuthering Heights’
Quotes ‘Bending in one direction’
‘Beaten off, brains and bowels beaten out’
‘Beached with the seas garbage’, forgetful surf’
‘Blinding wet’, ‘stampeding’
Analysis Both rain and wind depict nature as hostile and unforgiving, also evident
in Plath’s poetry.
Dismal, relentless, oppressive rain. Bones being washed away. Plosive
phonology. Violent continuous verbs, strong verbs moving out of control.
Critics Hughes- Heaney “brutal energies of the natural world”
Plath- Rosenthal “raw, dangerous, and shockingly honest”
Context Hughes grew up in the harsh British landscape, Moors of Yorkshire.
Nature as destructive and the vulnerability of humans. Sense of survival
and dread.
A place off the coast of Massachusttes. Early signs of suicidal ideation.
Death and oblivion.
Written when Plath lived in Yorkshire with her husband Ted Hughes.
Fascinated by the Moors and the landscape. Inspired by Emily Bronte’s
novel. Inner turmoil, emotional isolation, trapped, suffocated.
‘How far do you agree that Hughes and Plath are alike in the ways in
which they depict violence? You must analyse in detail at least two poems
from each of your set texts’.
Poems ‘Rain’
‘Lovesong’
‘Cut’
‘Edge’
Quotes ‘Drumming’ ‘drumming’, ‘dull roof-drumming’, ‘pulsing across purple’,
‘beaten off brains and bowels beaten out’
‘Bit’, ‘gnawed’, ‘sucked’, ‘spider bites’, ‘sinews’, ‘love knot’, ‘screams’,
‘nailed’, ‘print him into her bones’.
‘What a thrill’, ‘thumb instead of an onion’, ‘saboteur’, ‘kamikaze’,
‘trepanned veteran’, ‘turkey wattle’, ‘red coats’
‘Greek accomplishment’, ‘deep throats’, ‘odors bleed’, ‘back into her
, body/Of a rose close’
Analysis Hughes explores violence in nature as well as in relationships. Plath
explores violence on a more psychological and self harming level.
Rain- overall dismal, relentless and oppressive rain. Oppressive and
plosive phonology echoing the rain. Emphasises continuous pounding of
the rain. Plosive sounds, decayed bones being washed away.
Lovesong- lexis to suggest eating and digestion. Jesus’ crucifixion,
suggests ownership. Spider eats her mate. No punctuation, separate
entities complete identity. What keeps your body together is unraveled.
End suggests they are interchangeable, just as bad as each other. All
consuming verbs, toxic and unhealthy relationships
Cut- Detail suggests fascination. American historical details. Colourful and
vivid imagery. Shocking and brutal imagery. Suicide references and self
harm. Died for their country (honour), a person who engages in sabotage.
Self loathing and telling herself off. Pace suggests thrill and excitement,
brutal imagery. Detached but also fascinated, childlike quality to
references. American references.
Edge- Suicide after killing her children. Published 1963, close to the last
poem she wrote. On the edge mentally, knife, pain. Taking life as opposed
to giving life. Killing is an unavoidable necessity.
Critics Hughes- Sagar “life and death, creation and destruction”
Plath- Rosenthal “raw, dangerous and shockingly honest”
Context Rain depicts Hughes’ childhood growing up in the Yorkshire Moors, harsh
landscape. Brutal weather conditions. Power of nature, elemental force,
human vulnerability.
Widely understood to be a depiction of his intense relationship with Sylvia
Plath. Passionate, volatile, and unhealthy. Violence, control, self
destruction. Mutual obsession.
Shows her fascination with self harm, detached tone to what has actually
happened. Strangely intimate and fascinating response to self-harm. Plath
had a documented history of depression and suicide attempt. Portrays
inner turmoil of self-harm.
Last poem she wrote. Living in London during a brutal winter with her
children, isolated and mentally deteriorating. The poem reads like a
farewell, could not go on any longer.
How far do you agree they are alike in the ways that they depict
landscape?
Poems ‘Dick Straightup’
‘Cock Crows
‘Wuthering Heights’
‘Suicide Off Egg Rock’
Quotes “Windy ridge”, “nourished by stone and height”, “graveyard bigger and
