Plath & Hughes - 'Nick and the Candlestick' and 'Red (need to edit again later)

Question 1

What is the argument for ‘Nick and the candlestick’? (I.e. topic sentence)

Answer 1

Plath’s ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ explores how her overwhelming experience with motherhood led her to rediscover her purpose in life, which she found in her son, Nick.

Question 2

What is the context for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ para?

Answer 2

This poem was influenced by her ordeal of single motherhood after being separated from Hughes, and the societal expectations of the 1960s to be a perfect mother.

Question 3

What is the first quote for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’? What techniques are used?

Answer 3

I am a miner. The light burns blue

metaphor and colour symbolism

Question 4

What is the argument for ‘I am a miner. The light burns blue’?

Answer 4

Plath initially characterises herself as lost in life, ‘I am a miner. The light burns blue,’ where the metaphor represents how Plath is trying to find a reason to live in her monotonous life of being a mother and the colour symbolism of the blue candle represents her failure to see any hope in her future.

Question 5

What is the second quote for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’? What techniques?

Answer 5

And the fish, the fish - Christ! They are panes of ice, a vice of knives,

metaphors

Question 6

What is the argument for, ‘And the fish, the fish - Christ! They are panes of ice, a vice of knives’?

Answer 6

Her situation is worsened by the unreasonable patriarchal social expectations placed on her, as seen in the metaphors, ‘And the fish, the fish - Christ! They are panes of ice, a vice of knives,’ accentuating how she found her experience with motherhood overwhelming at times.

Question 7

What is the third quote for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’?

Answer 7

The candle gulps and recovers its small altitude, its yellows hearten

colour symbolism shift

Question 8

What is the argument for, ‘The candle gulps and recovers its small altitude, its yellows hearten’?

Answer 8

However, despite the social expectations and tediousness of being a mother, she finds hope in her son, ‘The candle gulps and recovers its small altitude, its yellows hearten,’ where the shift in colour symbolism from blue, to a warm yellow represents how she becomes more optimistic when she looks at her baby boy.

Question 9

What is the fourth quote for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’? What technique?

Answer 9

I have hung our cave with roses, with soft rugs

imagery and metaphor

Question 10

What is the argument for ‘I have hung our cave with roses, with soft rugs’?

Answer 10

Her son ultimately provides her purpose in life as seen in her address to him, ‘I have hung our cave with roses, with soft rugs,’ where her metaphor reveals that her motivation to continue living is to love and care for Nick

Question 11

What is the fifth quote for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’? What technique?

Answer 11

Let the stars plummet to their dark address… You are the baby in the barn

Biblical allusion

Question 12

What is the argument for ‘Let the stars plummet to their dark address… You are the baby in the barn’?

Answer 12

She ultimately attributes her ability to stay optimistic to her son, ‘Let the stars plummet to their dark address… You are the baby in the barn,’ where the biblical allusion to baby Jesus reveals that her son acts as a saviour in her life.

Question 13

What is the concluding sentence for the ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ argument?

Answer 13

It could thus be seen that oftentimes, Plath found motherhood boring and wearying, yet finds motivation to continue in her son.

Question 14

What is the argument/topic sentence for ‘Red’?

Answer 14

Similarly, Hughes’ ‘Red’ argues that being a mother brought hope to Plath’s otherwise unstable life, aligning with her perspective that she found a purpose to live when she focused on Nick.

Question 15

What is the context sentence for ‘Red’?

Answer 15

This was largely inspired by their house in Devon, where Plath decorated a room in red, and Hughes utilises this as a symbol for Plath and their marriage.

Question 16

What is the first quote for the ‘Red’ argument, what technique?

Answer 16

Red was your colour. If not red, then white

Colour symbolism

Question 17

What is the argument for ‘Red was your colour. If not red, then white’?

Answer 17

Hughes initially characterises Plath as dualistic in nature through colour symbolism, ‘Red was your colour. If not red, then white,’ where red reveals her passion for life and white symbolising her morbid obsession with death.

Question 18

What is the second quote for the ‘Red’ Argument? What technique?

Answer 18

When you had your way finally our room was red. A judgement chamber. Shut casket for gems

metaphors

Question 19

What is the argument for ‘When you had your way finally our room was red. A judgement chamber. Shut casket for gems’?

Answer 19

However, he reveals that her extreme personality caused anger and tension in their marriage, ‘When you had your way finally our room was red. A judgement chamber. Shut casket for gems,’ where the metaphors reveal the destructive effects of her personality on her relationships.

Question 20

What is the third quote for the ‘Red’ Argument? WHat techniques?

Answer 20

Everything you painted you painted white then splashed it with roses, defeated it

imagery

Question 21

What is the argument for, ‘Everything you painted you painted white then splashed it with roses, defeated it’?

Answer 21

Despite this, Hughes reveals that Plath was determined to escape her own destructive nature with her passion for life, as seen in the imagery, ‘Everything you painted you painted white then splashed it with roses, defeated it,’ emphasising her attempts to fight back against her morbid thoughts.

Question 22

What is the fourth quote for the ‘Red’ argument? What technique?

Answer 22

Blue was better for you. Blue was wings, kingfisher blue silks from San Francisco folded your pregnancy in crucible caresses

Reappropriation of colour symbolism

Question 23

What is the argument for ‘Blue was better for you. Blue was wings, kingfisher blue silks from San Francisco folded your pregnancy in crucible caresses’?

Answer 23

However, Hughes argues that Plath was more stable whilst she was a mother, as seen in the metaphors, ‘Blue was better for you. Blue was wings, kingfisher blue silks from San Francisco folded your pregnancy in crucible caresses,’ where his reappropriation of her symbol of blue from a meaning of loneliness to one of freedom highlights how she was the most calm when she was focused on being a mother, aligning himself with Plath’s perspective that she found a purpose to live in her son, as seen in Nick and the Candlestick, ‘You are the baby in the barn’.

Question 24

What is the fifth quote in the ‘Red’ Argument? What techniques?

Answer 24

In the pit of red you hid from the bone-clinic whiteness. But the jewel you lost was blue

colour symbolism

Question 25

What is the argument for ‘In the pit of red you hid from the bone-clinic whiteness. But the jewel you lost was blue’?

Answer 25

Hughes concludes that the cause of Plath’s downfall was because she lost her value of motherhood, emphasised further by his use of colour symbolism, ‘In the pit of red you hid from the bone-clinic whiteness. But the jewel you lost was blue,’ highlighting his belief that being a mother would have prevented her undoing.

Question 26

What is the concluding sentence for the ‘Red’ argument?

Answer 26

Thus, it could be seen that Hughes mirrors Plath’s perspective that she finds purpose in life through being a mother to Nick.

Question 27

What are the five quotes for ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ in order?

Answer 27

1. I am a miner. The light burns blue
2. ‘And the fish, the fish - Christ! They are panes of ice, a vice of knives
3. The candle gulps and recovers its small altitude, its yellows hearten
4. I have hung our cave with roses, with soft rugs
5. Let the stars plummet to their dark address… You are the baby in the barn

Question 28

What are the five quotes in ‘Red’ in order?

Answer 28

1. Red was your colour. If not red, then white
2. When you had your way finally our room was red. A judgement chamber. Shut casket for gems
3. Everything you painted you painted white then splashed it with roses, defeated it
4. Blue was better for you. Blue was wings, kingfisher blue silks from San Francisco folded your pregnancy in crucible caresses
5. In the pit of red you hid from the bone-clinic whiteness. But the jewel you lost was blue