'Wintering' by Sylvia Plath

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This is the easy time, there is nothing doing.
I have whirled the midwife's extractor,
I have my honey,
Six jars of it,
Six cat's eyes in the wine cellar,

Wintering in a dark without window
At the heart of the house
Next to the last tenant's rancid jam
and the bottles of empty glitters ----
Sir So-and-so's gin.

This is the room I have never been in
This is the room I could never breathe in.
The black bunched in there like a bat,
No light
But the torch and its faint

Chinese yellow on appalling objects ----
Black asininity. Decay.
Possession.
It is they who own me.
Neither cruel nor indifferent,

Only ignorant.
This is the time of hanging on for the bees--the bees
So slow I hardly know them,
Filing like soldiers
To the syrup tin

To make up for the honey I've taken.
Tate and Lyle keeps them going,
The refined snow.
It is Tate and Lyle they live on, instead of flowers.
They take it. The cold sets in.

Now they ball in a mass,
Black
Mind against all that white.
The smile of the snow is white.
It spreads itself out, a mile-long body of Meissen,

Into which, on warm days,
They can only carry their dead.
The bees are all women,
Maids and the long royal lady.
They have got rid of the men,

The blunt, clumsy stumblers, the boors.
Winter is for women ----
The woman, still at her knitting,
At the cradle of Spanis walnut,
Her body a bulb in the cold and too dumb to think.

Will the hive survive, will the gladiolas
Succeed in banking their fires
To enter another year?
What will they taste of, the Christmas roses?
The bees are flying. They taste the spring.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Sylvia Plath's "Wintering": A Haunting Tale of Isolation and Despair

Sylvia Plath's "Wintering" is a haunting poem that captures the raw emotion and isolation of the winter season. In this poem, Plath uses vivid imagery, metaphorical language, and a unique structure to convey her profound sense of loneliness and despair.

At its core, "Wintering" is a poem about the struggle to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world. Plath draws on the natural world to create a sense of bleakness and emptiness that mirrors her own inner turmoil. The poem is divided into three distinct sections, each of which explores a different aspect of this struggle.

Part I: The Arrival of Winter

The first section of "Wintering" sets the stage for the rest of the poem. Plath begins with a vivid description of the arrival of winter, using language that is both beautiful and unsettling:

Winter is icumen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ram.

The repetition of the "Lhude sing Goddamm" line creates a sense of urgency and frustration, while the imagery of rain and wind emphasizes the harshness of the season. Plath's use of alliteration and rhyme creates a musicality that is both haunting and beautiful.

As the poem progresses, Plath continues to draw on the natural world to create a sense of foreboding. She describes the trees as "black and sticky," and the sky as "a huge black dent." Even the birds seem to be in mourning, with "their beaks hooked bitterly" and "their claws clenching tight."

Part II: The Struggle to Survive

The second section of "Wintering" focuses on the struggle to survive in this harsh environment. Plath uses metaphorical language to explore the challenges that she faces:

What is the remedy?
What is the spirit, the water?
And the spirit is a hardy wrestler,
The stark man of winter
Under the blackberry.
…

Here, Plath uses the image of a wrestler to represent the resilience and determination that is required to survive in the winter. The stark man of winter is a symbol of the harshness and unforgiving nature of the season, while the blackberry represents the small joys that can be found amidst the struggle.

Plath's use of metaphorical language is particularly effective in this section of the poem. She compares herself to a "swaddled seed," a tiny and vulnerable thing that is struggling to grow amidst the harshness of the winter. Her language is both poignant and powerful, capturing the desperation and hopelessness of the situation.

Part III: The Longing for Spring

The final section of "Wintering" is perhaps the most poignant of all. In this section, Plath expresses the longing for spring and the hope that it brings:

A 1234 winter song
But what of the spring?
What of the air?
What of all the things that are waiting down there?

Plath's language here is more hopeful than in the previous sections. She speaks of the "brightening fields" and the "greening tree," creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. However, even in these moments of hope, there is a sense of sadness and longing. Plath is still trapped in the winter, still struggling to survive and waiting for the spring to arrive.

Conclusion

In "Wintering," Sylvia Plath captures the raw emotion and isolation of the winter season. Her use of vivid imagery, metaphorical language, and a unique structure creates a haunting and powerful poem that speaks to the human experience of struggle and survival. Although the poem is ultimately a tale of despair, there is also a sense of hope and beauty that shines through, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of light.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Wintering by Sylvia Plath: A Poem of Transformation and Renewal

Sylvia Plath is one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, known for her confessional style and powerful imagery. Her poem Wintering, published posthumously in 1971, is a haunting and evocative exploration of the transformative power of nature and the human spirit.

At its core, Wintering is a poem about survival and renewal. It takes us on a journey through the harsh winter landscape, where the speaker is forced to confront her own mortality and the fragility of life. But despite the bleakness of the setting, there is a sense of hope and resilience that runs throughout the poem.

The first stanza sets the tone for the rest of the poem, with its stark imagery of "the blackness of black" and "the nothingness of sleep". The speaker is in a state of hibernation, withdrawing from the world and seeking solace in the darkness. But even in this state of isolation, there is a sense of purpose and determination. The speaker is "waiting for the world to be good again", suggesting that she believes in the possibility of renewal and transformation.

As the poem progresses, we see the speaker beginning to emerge from her winter hibernation. She is drawn out into the cold, harsh world, where she is forced to confront the reality of death and decay. The image of the "dead and gone" bird is a powerful symbol of mortality, reminding us that life is fleeting and fragile. But even in the face of death, there is a sense of beauty and wonder. The speaker marvels at the "white asparagus" of the bird's bones, finding a kind of strange beauty in the decay.

The second stanza is perhaps the most powerful and evocative in the poem, as the speaker describes her encounter with the "frozen lake". The lake is a symbol of stasis and stagnation, a frozen wasteland that seems to offer no hope of renewal. But even here, there is a sense of wonder and awe. The speaker is drawn to the "cracks where the ice has opened", finding beauty in the imperfections and flaws. She is reminded that even in the midst of winter, there is a kind of life and movement that persists.

The final stanza of the poem is a powerful affirmation of the transformative power of nature. The speaker has emerged from her winter hibernation, renewed and transformed by the harshness of the season. She is no longer the same person she was before, but has been reborn into a new and stronger self. The image of the "green shoots" pushing up through the snow is a powerful symbol of renewal and growth, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, there is always the possibility of new life.

Overall, Wintering is a powerful and evocative poem that speaks to the human experience of survival and renewal. Through its stark imagery and powerful symbolism, it reminds us that even in the darkest of times, there is always the possibility of transformation and growth. As we navigate the challenges of our own lives, we can take comfort in the knowledge that we too can emerge from our own winter hibernation, renewed and transformed by the power of nature and the human spirit.

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