Grief is something everyone will experience at sometime in their life and a person is never prepared for the feelings that follow. The poem “Nick and the Candlestick” by Sylvia Plath is the narration of of a woman processing a loss of a loved one. Sylvia Plath is a published poet by the age of nine and a certified genius with a 160 IQ at twelve (Tananbaum). Plath uses the nostalgic mood of the poem to convey the theme of grief in the poem so that the reader can prepare for a time when they will share the same grief and pain. She does this through word choice, voice, tone, and tension in the poem.
Plath’s word choice, particularly in the colors she uses to describe, tie in with other elements of the poem. “Blue” (l. 1) describes the light of …show more content…
In the beginning of the poem it feels like the persona is giving a monologue but the title, “Nick and the Candlestick”, gives the reader the vague idea that this poem is meant for one specific person and informs the name of the unknown lover the persona mentions. The idea that the poem is meant for someone is at “O love”(l. 24). This also gives the notion that the person being spoken to is a lover, though it could be just someone close to the person, as love can be a generalized nickname. “I have hung our cave with roses” (l. 33) gives more credit to person the poem is directed is the persona’s lover. The persona gives more hints toward the nature of the relationship with lines such as “The last of the Victoriana”(l. 34) and “Let the stars / Plummet to their dark address” (l. 35, l. 36). The first example mentions the Victorian era, which is one that is often viewed as romantic and the later example is romantic sounding in nature. All of these examples give the overall notion that the persona is direction this poem at a lover. Given that it is now thought that the lover is the “Nick” mentioned in the title, and that “Nick” is male, I have evidence to my initial presumption that the persona of Plath, Plath being a woman herself, is a woman This can then be taken to specify even more to say that it is a dead lover. “Blood” (l. 27), “even in sleep” (l. 25), and “Let the mercuric / Atoms that …show more content…
The shifts in the poem, though subtle, resemble the erratic thought process of someone in emotional turmoil, someone grieving and coming to the acceptance of loss. “And the fish, the fish / Christ! they are panes of ice” (l. 14, l. 15) shows a realization, which is a shift in the understanding of something. The shift from denial to acceptance is an important step in the grieving process. Another shift, and a shift that shows the conflict going on in the persona’s mind, “A vice of knives / A piranha / Religion, drinking” (l. 16-18) gives us a description of grief and then it shifts to ways of coping. “A vice of knives”(l. 14) is “A piranha” (l. 15) and this is I imagine the persona’s heart feels like it is being tormented by. To counteract this conflict of the heart and “vice of knives” (l. 14) the persona shifts her thoughts to ways to rid herself of the pain. These ways being “Religion, [and] drinking” (l. 16). The tension in the poem is one of internal tension.
The word choice of the poem supplies a mood and a different set of eyes to look at the poem. Voice offers the outline of who the person speaking is and who they are speaking to. Tone shows the reader that the poem is one of grieving and accepting the loss that causes grief. Tension narrates the internal battle the persona goes through while overcoming that loss and grief. In the poem “Nick and the Candlestick”, through word
Plath’s word choice, particularly in the colors she uses to describe, tie in with other elements of the poem. “Blue” (l. 1) describes the light of …show more content…
In the beginning of the poem it feels like the persona is giving a monologue but the title, “Nick and the Candlestick”, gives the reader the vague idea that this poem is meant for one specific person and informs the name of the unknown lover the persona mentions. The idea that the poem is meant for someone is at “O love”(l. 24). This also gives the notion that the person being spoken to is a lover, though it could be just someone close to the person, as love can be a generalized nickname. “I have hung our cave with roses” (l. 33) gives more credit to person the poem is directed is the persona’s lover. The persona gives more hints toward the nature of the relationship with lines such as “The last of the Victoriana”(l. 34) and “Let the stars / Plummet to their dark address” (l. 35, l. 36). The first example mentions the Victorian era, which is one that is often viewed as romantic and the later example is romantic sounding in nature. All of these examples give the overall notion that the persona is direction this poem at a lover. Given that it is now thought that the lover is the “Nick” mentioned in the title, and that “Nick” is male, I have evidence to my initial presumption that the persona of Plath, Plath being a woman herself, is a woman This can then be taken to specify even more to say that it is a dead lover. “Blood” (l. 27), “even in sleep” (l. 25), and “Let the mercuric / Atoms that …show more content…
The shifts in the poem, though subtle, resemble the erratic thought process of someone in emotional turmoil, someone grieving and coming to the acceptance of loss. “And the fish, the fish / Christ! they are panes of ice” (l. 14, l. 15) shows a realization, which is a shift in the understanding of something. The shift from denial to acceptance is an important step in the grieving process. Another shift, and a shift that shows the conflict going on in the persona’s mind, “A vice of knives / A piranha / Religion, drinking” (l. 16-18) gives us a description of grief and then it shifts to ways of coping. “A vice of knives”(l. 14) is “A piranha” (l. 15) and this is I imagine the persona’s heart feels like it is being tormented by. To counteract this conflict of the heart and “vice of knives” (l. 14) the persona shifts her thoughts to ways to rid herself of the pain. These ways being “Religion, [and] drinking” (l. 16). The tension in the poem is one of internal tension.
The word choice of the poem supplies a mood and a different set of eyes to look at the poem. Voice offers the outline of who the person speaking is and who they are speaking to. Tone shows the reader that the poem is one of grieving and accepting the loss that causes grief. Tension narrates the internal battle the persona goes through while overcoming that loss and grief. In the poem “Nick and the Candlestick”, through word