Sylvia Plath - Metaphors and Mushrooms

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Oral Presentation Readings: (Week 10: Lyric Poetry) Sylvia Plath: - Mushrooms - Metaphors “How important is historical and factual information to these readings and why.” Historical and factual information have an undeniable significance and influence on Sylvia Plath’s confessional poetry. Her personal struggles she experienced in the times that she lived in go hand in hand, which helped in the creation of these poems. As important as the choice of language and literary techniques are, which identify her unique confessional style, we can set this aside to take note of the ground which this is laid on, that being the historical and factual information which inspired everything after in creating these works, and hence why all this background information is so important. Both Mushrooms and Metaphors are no exception to the importance of this, which included the aspects of both her personal life and the world around her. The salient themes of women and feminism are strongly expressed through both these poems, which are developed on a personal level as well as by outside influences. On the surface of the poem Mushrooms, there is no question that if interpreted in a literal sense, it is about a bunch of mushrooms sprouting in a forest which eventually sprout from the cracks in a city footpath. If we divulge into the poem a little deeper though, we can interpret an extended metaphor of a rally of feminist’s protesting against a male dominated society, where the women feel unfair limitations in expressing themselves. In terms of historical information and from the perspective of housewives like Plath from the 1950’s, this is exactly what was happening at the time and hence why it is so important to the poem, because for Plath it was clearly her source of inspiration to speak not only for her, but I’m sure other women of the time who felt strongly and could relate

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