Arrival Of The Bee Box

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

Britain in 1962

Bees symbol of fertility and femininity

In the summer of 1962 Plath and Hughes began beekeeping

a letter in August 1962 to her mother I simply cannot go on living like this degraded and agonised life I have been living which has stoppedt my writing and just about ruined my sleep and my heaIth I must at all costs get a live in Nanny next spring so I can start trying to write and get my independence again

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Rhymed quintets tight control of punctuation conveys malicious nature of beekeeping
Orphan line boxes only temporary path self-destruction

Question 3

Techniques

Answer 3

Colour imagery black on black Symbol of masculinity reference to slavery Beezer underclass mastery she’s not entirely comfortable with it
 grotesque comical imagery


Question 4

Themes

Answer 4

Inner turmoil vs outer control

The unconscious mind

Question 5

Form

Answer 5

Dramatic monologue Plath adapting to the persona of a beekeeper