The Moon And The Yew Tree Flashcards
“This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary”
Melancholy start
Distance, exposure of the self
ALLUSION to bible
“”When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12) “
Shortness to descriptions, set tone of poem
“The trees of the mind are black”
Yew tree - symbol of her father,
Negative, devoid of colour
Her thoughts branch, grow but melancholy
Trees usually associated with life, warmth and knowledge. In presenting her “mind” trees as black and light as blue, speaker reveals how her despair has recoloured the world itself
“Fumy, spiritus mists inhabit this place”
Evil spirits
“This place” - her home is cold, unwelcoming, unfamiliar
Speaker feels haunted by death
“The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right”
Her mother is not welcoming
Detached cold - reflected by caesura
Moon is PROFOUNDLY insensitive
“No door” - no opportunity for solace
“Drags the sea like a dark crime”
Moon exerts its influence on the sea OPPRESSIVELY
Without the sea’s consent/ ability to escape
Summary
Plath is in despair due to her inability to find consolation in her surroundings and the two components of the poem’s title are symbols of the figures she takes no comfort in.
“She is not sweet like Mary”
“Her blue garments unloose small bats and owls”
Moon depicted as unloving signified by contrast made between Mary whom represents the “tenderness” which Plath alludes to earlier
The dark destructive nature of the moon is represented by nocturnal animals
This powerful and destructive portrayal of the moon has lead critics to compare moon to the female Muse - an antithesis of Mary
“Blue garments” allude to blue robes artists depict Virgin Mary wearing
This image of perfect motherhood is subverted by bats and owls
HARSH, CARNIVOROUS FEMININITY
The yew tree “points up” and has a “Gothic shape”
Points up - phallic implications, points up to heaven or the moon
- presents it as aloof and unresponsive - it points away from itself
Phallic imagery emphasises tree’s masculinity
She has “fallen a long way” from her faith
“Inside the church, the saints will all be blue”
Plath’s own disillusionment with religion is palpable
Like the portrayal of the tree, religion is presented as inward - looking and unsympathetic to the poet,
Reinforced by the dull mood evoked by “blue” - the saints are not filled with passion but are lifeless and stern
the “griefs” of the grasses
The “spiritus mists”
The “black trees”
“Row of headstones
Nature itself seems to be filled with references to death - nature is far from comfortable or comforting to the speaker
It is cold, lifeless and dark
Speakers vision - her way forward - is blocked by death
“message of the yew tree is blackness—blackness and silence.”
affirms her despair is a testament to how deeply her perceptions have colored the world around her.
No divide between internal and external at this point—
the speaker is seeing her own mood reflected back to her.
Cyclic nature of despair
Metre?
No set metre - more prosaic feel
