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The document analyzes the intertextuality between Sylvia Plath's poetry collection Ariel and Ted Hughes' Birthday Letters. It explores how their turbulent personal relationship and the surrounding historical context are reflected in deliberate resonances, dissonances, and alignments between their poems. Specific poems discussed include Nick and the Candlestick, Bee God, Daddy, and Picture of Otto.

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86 views3 pages

Mod A HSC

The document analyzes the intertextuality between Sylvia Plath's poetry collection Ariel and Ted Hughes' Birthday Letters. It explores how their turbulent personal relationship and the surrounding historical context are reflected in deliberate resonances, dissonances, and alignments between their poems. Specific poems discussed include Nick and the Candlestick, Bee God, Daddy, and Picture of Otto.

Uploaded by

baedendally
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The comparative study of the intertwined nature of text's reveals the wide variety of

resonances and dissonances, in order to explore the wide intertextuality existing


between texts of all forms. The interplay between texts, fosters the exploration of how
authorial purpose and language characteristics, unveils the complexities within human
relationships, emotions and historical contexts. An analysis upon Sylvia Plath's and Ted
Hughes' respective poetry sets of 'Ariel' and 'Birthday letters' unveils a indistinguishable
culmination of resonances, dissonances and alignments. Emphasising the wide
intertextuality between their work, and the turbulent passion associated with their
personal relationship and poetic careers. Sylvia Plath's pioneering of confessional
poetry, is expressed through her intricate exploration of her sentiments and the evident
challenges she had to overcome, and abundant gender barriers. In which Ted Hughes'
intertextual response, gracefully navigates the complexities of their relationship, offering
an alternative perspective to themes of containment and liberation, greatly improving the
discussion between their respective works.

The intertextuality evident between Ariel and Birthday Letters is expressed through the
volatile emotion interwoven into Sylvia and Ted's personal relationship, influencing each
other's poetry style and establishing alignments of viewpoints and stylistic devices. One
such poetry match of intertextuality is between Sylvia Plath's, Nick and the Candlestick
and Ted Hughes's poem of Bee god. In which Sylvia's description of her relationship with
Ted, is portrayed as "stasis in darkness, then the substanceless blue, pour and tor over
distances", in which Hughes' textual response of "Sky water, earth water, cloud water,
river water, ocean water". In which the poems are explored through the deliberate act of
mirroring, and the extended theme of "pour & blue & water", depicting the complexity of
the emotions associated between Sylvia and Ted's relationship. In which Sylvia
expresses her feeling of containment and stagnation, through the running metaphor of
water, utilising words like substanceless and stasis, in which Hughes opposes this,
through the depiction of water in volatile scenario's and in motion. Expressing the
alternative perspectives between the poems, whist still finding unity through poetry. The
duality of thematic ideals such as love and intimacy is resonated through the poems, in
which Sylvia expresses the love of their relationship through, "Love love, the low smoke
rolls, off me like Isadora's scarfs", where Hughes' utilization of resonances is seen
through "Love love, love like a dead, man walking". The duality of thematic themes of
love, explores the love through their relationship, utilising the expression of emotion and
the references of movement, epitomised through the simile of "Isadora's scarves".
Hughes' response through the repetition of the word "love" resonates the theme of love
as seen through Sylvia's poem. In which the intertextuality between the two poems,
clarifies the intent of their relationship, reassuring that despite the series of outside
perspectives, that their relationship was grounded in love and intimacy. Hughes' further
carries a metaphor of "a dead man walking" symbolising a dissonance between their
relationship, and the emotions of heaviness and emotional burden, in which Hughes'
associated with his relationship with Sylvia. This series of poetic intertextuality explores
how the associated complexity of the emotions throughout their relationship and
personal life, greatly influenced their poems, and in turn how their poems had great
impacts on one another's writing style and inspiration.

Expressions of environmental factors contribute the historical and societal references


seen throughout texts and the intertextuality explored throughout them. The surrounding
environment of the mid twentieth century carries an abundance of societal tension
through the Cold-War and post Second World War, which influences can be seen
throughout Sylvia and Ted's poetry. Such poetry pairing of Sylvia Plath's 'Daddy' and Ted
Hughes 'Picture of Otto' reveals the environmental factors and historical influences
throughout their work. Through Sylvia's statement of "Anymore, Black shoe in which I
have lived like a foot" and Hughes coupling statement of "The world was our oyster, but
you did not like oysters". In which the confessional genre of poetry in which Sylvia
engages in, intricately is expressive of Sylvia's feelings of containment and the
restrictions which is placed on her through environmental factors and societal norms.
Such expressionism which is mirrored through the treatment and expectations of women
in the mid twentieth century, through the forced expectation of them to live through
domestic duties, rather then pursuing career ambitions. Sylvia's imagery of living in a
'shoe' depicts such feelings of containment, and her abundant challenges she had to
overcome in order to assert her autonomy as a woman and a writer, in a male dominated
literature world. Hughes' provides a dissonance through his statement of comparison,
depicting the imagery of the world like an oyster, underlining the vast differences in
perspectives of Sylvia's situation, with Hughes' promoting a view of liberation and
appreciation for the opportunities Sylvia has been presented with. In which this
exploration of how the implications of societal expectations channels intertextuality
between poetry, is contrasted through the consequences of familial significance seen
throughout Sylvia and Ted's relationship. In which Sylvia wrote in Daddy, "I made a
model of you, a man in black with a Meinkampf look", through which Hughes responds
with "You set my life to burn, to burn". Sylvia's deliberate utilization of the allusion,
"Meinkampf look" portrays her father as a domineering and oppressive figure, in which
she expresses the sense of control he exerted, through the link to Hitlers autobiography.
Hughes resonates the impact Otto had over Sylvia's life, through his description of how
he felt that he could never fulfill his role as Sylvia's husband, due to always being in
Otto's shadow. In which such descriptions of familial influences showcases the extreme
vulnerability associated throughout 'Ariel' and 'Birthday letters' and the complex
intertwined nature of the poetry sets.

The deliberate running resonances, dissonances, and alignments seen throughout Sylvia
Plath's 'Ariel' and Ted Hughes, 'Birthday Letters', reveals the intimate and vulnerable
discussion between their poetry sets. It showcases how environmental influences such
as historical significance, both on governmental levels and familial levels can have
running implications on the writing style of authors and the pieces of creation they
establish. Further the intertextuality present between literature, reveals the complexity
through language and authorial purpose, and how these factors resonate to shape
meaning present through respective texts.

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