A birth myth or birth tale is a story about the often miraculous birth and infancy of a hero or, in some cases, an entire race of people or a nation. In the case of a hero, the baby is deprived of his true parents and heritage and is cast by fate into a different…
Tag: Sylvia Plath
Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath – Feminist & Civil Rights Movements
The Women’s Rights Movement Plath wrote ‘‘Mushrooms’’ in post-World War II England. During the war, both in England and the United States, many men of working age went away to fight in the war and women were left to run businesses and work in industry. Furthermore, many men died in combat, so women were needed…
Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath – Poetic Devices
Confessional Poetry In 1958 Plath attended Robert Lowell’s poetry seminar in Boston, where she met fellow poet Anne Sexton and became familiar with her work. Plath later identified Lowell and Sexton as poets whose work she admired for what became known as the confessional mode of poetry that they pioneered. The three poets are frequently…
Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath: Themes
Feminism The main theme of ‘‘Mushrooms’’ can be seen as the feminist struggle and growth to greater selfawareness. This is treated through the symbolism of the mushrooms, which can be assumed to stand for women. This interpretation, it might be argued, is the one that is most consistent within the context of the poem. However,…
Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath: Summary
Stanza 1 On the most literal level, ‘‘Mushrooms’’ is a description of the natural process of the growth of mushrooms. The poem opens with a description of how mushrooms appear seemingly out of nothing, quietly, unexpectedly, and without fuss. They appear overnight. Their white color is noted. Stanza 2 Using imagery of body parts that…