Poets and their literary contributions

¶ … Power of Symbolism Explored in the Works of Plath, Bishop, and Parker

Symbolism is a powerful literary technique, enhancing the reading experience. Symbols often tell us more that what actual words say on a page. Three poems that illustrate this technique are Sylvia Plath's poem, "Daddy," Elizabeth Bishop's poem, "Sestina" and Dorothy Parker's poem, "A Certain Lady." Each of these poets uses symbolism to provide the reader with more information that what the words provide. The symbols allow us to put the pieces of the poetic puzzle together. Plath provides a dramatic image of her father while Bishop gives us a somber picture of death looming in the activities of life. Parker gives us a glimpse into the mind of a not-so-happy lover with her poem. Symbolism adds texture to the words on the page, allowing us to gather more from what is alluded to than almost anything else is.

In "Daddy," Plath uses symbolism to express her feelings toward her father. She refers to him as German while she is a Jew (Plath 35), to point to their disconcerting bond. She writes, "A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen. / I began to talk like a Jew. / I think I may well be a Jew" (33-5). Here the poet links images of prisoners being shipped to concentration camps to her and her father. Hitler and his "neat moustache" (43) symbolizes her father later in the poem. When she writes, "Every woman adores a Facist" (49), she is revealing that every girl loves her father regardless of his treatment of her or any other negative circumstances. The poet's husband also becomes a symbol for her father with his "Meinkampf look" (65). Her husband drinks her "blood for a year/Seven years, if you want to know" (73-4), like a vampire. Here, the man is associated with a creature that drains the life out of her. The symbols relating to the important male figures in the poet's life leave little to the imagination.

In "Sestina," Elizabeth Bishop utilizes symbolism to convey sorrow associated with loss. Significant symbols include the almanac, the kettle on the stove, and the child's picture. The kettle is a symbol of grief as it harbors the grandmother's tears. We are told the child watches it as the "small hard tears dance like mad on the hot black stove" (Bishop 14-5), demonstrating the grief the grandmother is experiencing. The tears also dancing like mad the "way the rain must dance on the house" (16). The beads of sweat on the kettle and the rain on the house are as much a part of life as the grandmother's tears and grief. Using everyday symbols to convey this message makes the poem more powerful because we can relate to them. The almanac symbolizes the passing of time or life. As a result, it cannot help but point to death and bring forth tears. We see this alluded to with the child's drawing, as the man wears "tear like buttons" (29), symbolizing all that has passed. The almanac is crying but those tears are also nourishing in that they are preparing the child for the next phase in her life. The recurring tears point to the fact that death is not far for the grandmother. Here we see death hiding about in almost every aspect of the daily activities of life, reminding us that it is always around the corner.

In "A Certain Lady," Dorothy Parker utilizes symbolism to make an ironic point. The symbols in this poem point to the traditional ones we associate with love and lovers. The poet tells her lover that she will "drink your rushing words with eager lips" (parker 2) and she will "laugh and marvel, rapturous-eyed" (6). These symbol seem to indicate an eagerness for this lover. The metaphor of the "thousand little deaths my heart has died" (8) is very telling, indicating how many times her lover has hurt her. The poet's tales of his lover's are "fresh adventurings" (14) for which she is to enjoy and she does not disappoint. These women and the "lingering hands, and gently whispered things" (16) are symbols of the time in which Parker lived. The twenties were notorious for greed and self -- indulgence. The poet's kiss as her lover goes blithely on is a symbol of those times as well, as she knows the truth of what goes on behind closed doors. Here we see the double meaning the poet intends with these symbols as they help her make her point at the end of the poem.