poetry texts, poem archive at plagiarist.com

unfortunately the context of the poem and plath's so-called frostiness are integral to the reading of the poem. without the context of the 50's ideal of marriage plath's spinster loses some, if not half of its meaning. simply put, I think the poem is entitled spinster because plath has specific problems with the fact that she is afraid of men and at the same time her keel is bent by the fact that society and her biological imperative are influencing her to do the opposite of her intellect. Of course women need to be scared of men, and it is likely that an aggresive man might end a woman physically. plath, i think, was more afraid of being "ended" intellectually, since she yearned for children and a husband, I think she often feared that they would take a much larger role in her life then she wanted to accept. pre-pill copulation and all that are good I guess. the whole poem is not about that though, it's about the fact that that's the way it is. women's lib, at least to my knowledge, has been about women having personal space outside of a man's influence. spinster speaks to that, because she fears the lose of her personal space, her very personality. The "austere order of winter" is throwin into motley dissarray by her man. she is wildly in the throes of passion and fears she has become something she did not want to be. she sets "barbs and barricades" to hide from love. Inevitably you get a sense, at the end of the poem, that plath is at the mercy of her biological urgings, or at least I get a sense of it.

Yeah, I bet women have eons of biological evolution to overcome before they are "as free as men", but you shouldn't think of it that way. our technology has always been a way for us to overcome biological obstacles and the pill is just another evidence that we as a society come to except the things that make life very unnatural, copulation without the possibility of children for example, as completely natural. Sadly i do not think it is women's biology that is the reason spinsters are recluses and exhiles, rather, I would like to think that the dominant, oppressive sex is more to blame. men are as "free" as they are because we are the dominant species. our very society speaks to that, men are paid more, have better jobs, and men rape women far more then women rape men. funny thing is, this poem still stands true. there is enough patriarchy and tradition around to look down on the spinster. look at "bridget jone's diary", I doubt bridget is comfortable with her singleness, a movie it may be. and since the poem was written during a contextual time period for plath it has huge implications on the poem, and I think that it is unfortunate that it still has implications today.

I am also an IB student who has to analyze this poem and I just wanted to add some of my own comments.
Andrew said that the phrase "particular girl" implied that the subject of the poem -- the actual spinster -- was peculiar. However, I believe Plath meant "particular" as in just any girl, like when you say "no particular reason".
The metaphor of the seasons is pretty obvious. Spring is the apex of love, when all things are bright and beautiful, and the girl is happy and content in the garden of the world. But then she starts to fall out of love. She begins to notice all the imperfections of spring, the cluttering of leaves, the babbling of the birds. I fully believe that the girl was hurt (cheated on, most likely) by her suitor (which I do agree with Andrew there have been many other suitors), because she withdraws from love entirely, the way someone who almost drowned refuses to get back in the water. The winter is her spinster-ness. All the themes of order and independence that you all were discussing are manifest in winter's ice and rock, but I am of the opinion that the coldness of winter was mainly supposed to symbolize the cold detachment of a betrayed heart that vows to never leave itself vulnerable to pain again. The spinster sets up barriers around her heart to guard against more hurt.
Sylvia obviously did not have a lot of respect for men when she wrote this poem, as made apparent by the phrase "mere insurgent men". Was this because of her father, or due to Ted Hughes' influence (or did he come after this poem was written?)?

i would have to say that all of you are posting your comments in a completely wrong manner. I came here to gain insight on the poem "spinster." But instead i was faced with one big argument this page is about the poem..not on peoples oppinions about who's right and who's wrong...and it bothers me that i came here to seek knowledge and instead i have to listen to a bunch of people arguing about who's getting too excited or not...Golly gee wiz i don't know but everbody else who puts comments down here..help future students actually put something useful down. with that said...i definatly do not think this poem is about love... i'm doing a project on this poem and i was to analyze it and learn about it.. and frankly i think it's about someone seeking something else completely different than love...more like escape and love seems to only entangle her.. it comes in like a season and leaves in the same fashion.

I was looking up poems by Sylvia Plath. These comments are old but they help out alot. I'm the first person to post in over a year!

“Spinster” is poem that describes the character of an old unmarried woman. In particular the poem describes how the spinster’s character was formed early in her adult life. Plath uses nature and its seasons as a metaphor for the inner life of this spinster. Within the metaphor many symbols are used to describe her state of mind at the time when she irrevocably decides to not engage with men. In this poem Plath is describing a girl who willingly fades into the life of a spinster, rather than fight against the idea, like most women do.

The moment of decision comes in the spring when the young woman is walking with a “suitor” – line 3. Her suitor’s talk becomes like the “irregular babel” – line 6, of a bird, his thoughts making as much sense as the “leaves’ litter” - line 7. Litter, of course, can also be taken as trash and one feels the girl’s sudden revulsion towards her lover. His body movements seem to her now unbalanced, his gait uneven. The impact of this encounter is symbolized by flower “petals in disarray” - line 11, and by a descriptive metaphor where “the whole season”- line 12, has become “sloven” – line 12, meaning that the idea of courtship now has been spoiled for this woman in her life.

In her confusion the girl longs for the clarity and crispness of winter where the world appears “austere in its order” in line 14 and life is as simple as “white and black” – line 15. With this winter landscape Plath describes a mind set that has now become hardened to emotion and that embraces rationality – “exact as a snowflake”- line 18. A decision is made. The woman will no longer be subject to the whims of love and its accompanying whirlwind of emotion. Let others “Reel giddy in bedlam spring;” – line 24, this girl withdraws from the circle of the love, building a fortress in her mind against the intrusions of men. Here Plath describes girl’s mind as a house surrounded by “a barricade of barb and check” – line 26. Plath

A tone of depression, isolation and paralysis of an individual who is trap in the society at the time the poem is written and shows through out the poem as well as the spinster’s yearning for order and discipline. This can been seen by the loneliness of winter (which suggests in line 13) and the flourishing of springtime.

The way Plath describes the spinster, and the working of her mind, the way she uses tone and rhythm in her poem helps guided the reader with a consistent image of a woman consciously shunning the normal path expected of a woman in favor of a world of order and seclusion. This poem could reflect Sylvia Ptath’s own innermost feelings at the time she wrote this poem.