Sylvia Plath's Poem 'Child'

Overview of the Poem "Child"

• The poem "Child" is one of Sylvia Plath's most powerful works, written just before her suicide in 1963.
• The poem is addressed to her son Nicholas, and it takes a dark and depressing turn towards the end.

Themes and Ideas

• The innocence of children
• The beauty of her son
• Love
• Motherhood
• Depression
• Suicidal thoughts

Style

• Imagery from the natural world
• Personal tone: directly speaking to Nicholas
• Rhyme
• Enjambment
• Figurative language, including a powerful metaphor at the end

Analysis of Key Quotes

• "Your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing. I want to fill it with color and ducks, / the zoo of the new."

  • Plath speaks directly to Nicholas, expressing her love and desire to fill his vision with joyful things.
  • The use of words like "color" and "ducks" creates a sense of childhood and innocence.
  • The internal rhyme in "zoo of the new" adds to the euphony of the poem.

• "Whose names you meditate – / April snowdrop, Indian pipe, / Little / Stalk without wrinkle, / Pool in which images / Should be grand and classical"

  • Nicholas is imagined reciting the names of plants and flowers he learns, which sound appealing due to their 'p' sounds.
  • The seemingly innocent flowers are juxtaposed with Plath's attraction to death.
  • The enjambment linking the second and third stanzas portrays Nicholas as a flawless and growing stalk.
  • Plath thinks that her son's eyes should be like a pool, reflecting only grand and classical things.

• "Not this troublous / Wringing of hands, this dark / Ceiling without a star."

  • Plath is suddenly brought back to her own reality, filled with depression and pain.
  • The juxtaposition of the joy of the child and Plath's own pain and anguish is harrowing for the reader.
  • The poem ultimately reveals that even the "one absolutely beautiful" sight in the world could not have saved Plath from her depression.

This quiz covers the themes, ideas, and style of Sylvia Plath's poem 'Child', written just before her suicide in 1963. Explore the poet's use of imagery and themes of love, motherhood, and depression.