Sylvia Plath`s poem the “Snakecharmer” elaborates on the theme of creation. The recurring ideas, narrative techniques, tone as well as the devices used, enhances the poem, making it quite appealing to the readers. The question implies that the technical devices help readers to highlight and trace the creation process of this eight-stanza poem.
With the title itself, the poet already creates a sense of suspense and makes the reader anticipate the mystical and symbolic aspect of the poem. The poem develops around the Snakecharmer who, mastering in the creative ability generates a world of snakes which he destroys at the end. The rhyming pattern is in an irregular format which reflects the chaos that will follow in the poem. The technique of …show more content…
Traditionally, snakes have been associated with the evil and thus we can decipher that the Snakecharmer is scheming something blasphemous. Moreover, throughout the poem, the repetition of “he” and “his” reinforces that the Snakecharmer has created this new world which he is both proud of and possessive for. This leaves no place for an “I” figure, as the speaker, omniscient and observing distantly, seems both awed and restless because the exact thoughts and feelings of the Snakecharmer is undisclosed. The repetition of pipe throughout the poem, for example, “mouth-pipe”, “Pipes water”, “pipes a world of snake” makes the poem stylistically engaging despite not have the same meaning every time. For instance, “mouth-pipe” suggests that the Snakecharmer, with his musical instrument, is playing a hypnotic and manipulative tune which ensnares both the snakes and the readers. “Pipes water” may mean transmitting water while “pipes a world of snake” means to summon the snakes. The seventh stanza clearly makes allusion to the cloth-making process. The words “snake-warp” and “snake-weft” are used as a comparison to threads which are twisted together to form cloth. However, as much as it is easy to create those fabrics, they are also easily …show more content…
The reference to “Eden” in the sixth stanza is very symbolical. The Bible (Genesis 2.8-2.10) clearly depicts that both man and trees were created by God in the Garden of Eden. But here, by saying that the snakes have sprung “Eden`s navel”, the poet seems to be giving the snakes human-like qualities. The reference to the snake is symbolical as in the Genesis (3.4- 3.5), it is the cunning snake, with its deceptive power, tempts Eve into having what is forbidden by God and this ultimately leads to the fall of mankind. In the same way here, the Snakecharmer seems to be creating a deceptive world which is full of evil. The tone, full of defiance signify the heightened tension as the speaker abruptly says, “let there be snakes!” and this quote is similar to the Bible`s quote “Let there be light.”(Genesis 1.3)
The poet here is simply creating a contrast between the dark world of snakes and the positive one, full of light which has been created by God. The use of caesura symbolizes the dissolution or “melting” process that will now take place. The Snakecharmer, now tired, destroys everything that he has created. The Snakecharmer was as if in a daze or hypnotized by his own tune leading to the creation but once out of his reverie, he destroys the world of snake, thus restoring the natural order and allowing the speaker and the readers to heave a sigh of
With the title itself, the poet already creates a sense of suspense and makes the reader anticipate the mystical and symbolic aspect of the poem. The poem develops around the Snakecharmer who, mastering in the creative ability generates a world of snakes which he destroys at the end. The rhyming pattern is in an irregular format which reflects the chaos that will follow in the poem. The technique of …show more content…
Traditionally, snakes have been associated with the evil and thus we can decipher that the Snakecharmer is scheming something blasphemous. Moreover, throughout the poem, the repetition of “he” and “his” reinforces that the Snakecharmer has created this new world which he is both proud of and possessive for. This leaves no place for an “I” figure, as the speaker, omniscient and observing distantly, seems both awed and restless because the exact thoughts and feelings of the Snakecharmer is undisclosed. The repetition of pipe throughout the poem, for example, “mouth-pipe”, “Pipes water”, “pipes a world of snake” makes the poem stylistically engaging despite not have the same meaning every time. For instance, “mouth-pipe” suggests that the Snakecharmer, with his musical instrument, is playing a hypnotic and manipulative tune which ensnares both the snakes and the readers. “Pipes water” may mean transmitting water while “pipes a world of snake” means to summon the snakes. The seventh stanza clearly makes allusion to the cloth-making process. The words “snake-warp” and “snake-weft” are used as a comparison to threads which are twisted together to form cloth. However, as much as it is easy to create those fabrics, they are also easily …show more content…
The reference to “Eden” in the sixth stanza is very symbolical. The Bible (Genesis 2.8-2.10) clearly depicts that both man and trees were created by God in the Garden of Eden. But here, by saying that the snakes have sprung “Eden`s navel”, the poet seems to be giving the snakes human-like qualities. The reference to the snake is symbolical as in the Genesis (3.4- 3.5), it is the cunning snake, with its deceptive power, tempts Eve into having what is forbidden by God and this ultimately leads to the fall of mankind. In the same way here, the Snakecharmer seems to be creating a deceptive world which is full of evil. The tone, full of defiance signify the heightened tension as the speaker abruptly says, “let there be snakes!” and this quote is similar to the Bible`s quote “Let there be light.”(Genesis 1.3)
The poet here is simply creating a contrast between the dark world of snakes and the positive one, full of light which has been created by God. The use of caesura symbolizes the dissolution or “melting” process that will now take place. The Snakecharmer, now tired, destroys everything that he has created. The Snakecharmer was as if in a daze or hypnotized by his own tune leading to the creation but once out of his reverie, he destroys the world of snake, thus restoring the natural order and allowing the speaker and the readers to heave a sigh of