Sylvia Plath: Poppies in October

Sylvia Plath: Poppies in October

Poppies in October

Q- Write a critical appraisal of Sylvia Plath's poem Poppies in October?  [2014]

Sylvia Plath is such an American writers whose best known poems are noted for their personal imagery and intense focus. Despite the first person narrative appearance, the poetry of Plath is

not purely autobiographical or personal. The experience narrated in the poem is more than personal.

In Poppies in October, Plath had her rare moments of direct contact and communication with nature. This happened usually in her brighter mood. The poem begins with the words:

‘Even the sun- clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts.’

The poem ‘Poppies in October ‘is an instance of this reaction to nature. The poetess comes upon a field of poppies. She is charmed by the bright red color of the flowers. Red is usually associated with death and depression. But red in flowers kindles feelings of joy. The poetess is enthralled, as Wordsworth was by a sight of ‘a host of golden daffodils.’ But the comparison ends just here, for Plath was something quiet different from Wordsworth in her perception.

Even in the apparent happy mood the poetess is visited by the death wish, as she speaks of the woman in the ambulance whose red heart blooms through her coat.

‘Nor the woman in the ambulance

Whose red heart blooms through her coat’

So astoundingly.’

For a moment her mood brightens up. To her the flowers are;

‘A gift, a love gift,

Utterly unmasked for….’

But notwithstanding its apparent simplicity, the poem is not so simple. It is a combination of conflicting feelings of joy and pain. The bright life reflected by the flowers in the poem is threatened by the unkind sky darting its deadly rays upon them. The attitude of people passing by is also sadly indifferent.

To her beauty was always accompanied by death wish close at its heels, as a beauty of poppies in the poem is supposed to be threatened by the fatal rays of the sun.

Transfiguration of death is more or less like Emily Dickinson’s vision of death. Emily’s poem, ‘Because I could not stop for death’, can be quoted here. In other words the death wish has always lurked behind Plath’s poetry. And that is what distinguishes her from other poets of the same denomination

The ‘I’ in her poems invites the readers to witness and to identify with her as she undergoes extreme experiences. But her approach is as complex that a common reader can hardly share her experiences. In Plath’s work identification is an essential condition for understanding and enjoying it. This makes her properly different from all others poets.