The Arrival of the Bee Box Sylvia Plath

Stanza 1 I in the first line (Sylvia Plath is the focus of this poem) Described with the word coffin (ominous, feeling of danger)

Stanza 2 For once Plath is very literal saying the box is dangerous. The reader (you) knows there are bees within the box, but the speaker (Plath) does not She is stuck with this box for an unknown reason and must have it over night

Stanza 3 The box is starting to represent the mental state of the speaker. There is a jumbled, horrifying, undefined space of darkness (possibly within Plath) The blackness/bees within represent all the things Plath struggles with in life (remember we learned her great fear in “stings”)

Stanza 4 Plath wants to release the bees (release her fears/struggles) But she describes being scared to do so. The noise is overwhelming to her.

Stanza 5 Plath is trying to understand the words, emotions and sounds from the box. She is trying to understand her inner demons, and why she is struggling. She wants to take control of the situation and overcome it. “They can be sent back.” “I need feed them nothing, I am the owner (control)”

Stanza 6 This is a step backwards, Plath is now seeking an escape. She would rather be like a plant (laburnum) and not worry about having thoughts. She is seeking an escape in this stanza

7th stanza More optimistic again at the end She describes in the last two lines that he will, “tomorrow…be sweet” and let the bees (her worries/thoughts) free from the box. The box is only temporary meaning she can move on past this. It is implied that the box is of her own creation (stemming control yet again)