2.  The poem itself was written in 1956, the same year that she married her husband, Ted Hughes.  This man was rumored to have led her to her suicide because he was abusive towards her and she eventually became depressed.

3.  She obtained a scholarship to Newnham College in Cambridge where she actively wrote poetry, occasionally publishing her work in the student newspaper Varsity.  She met the English poet Ted Hughes at a Cambridge party. After a emotional courtship, they were married on June 16, 1956 (Blooms day).  She suffered from Bipolar Disorder (formerly called Manic Depressive Disorder).  Plath took her own life after she completely sealed the rooms between herself and her sleeping children with "wet towels and cloths.“

4.  Plath describes nature in her work, often using it as a poetic device to reflect her own emotional and mental state.  In this poem, her mood is obviously quite dark and depressed. We know this because there is a lot of darkness, with light only from what we think are candles, and there is a storm.

5. Traditionally, Rooks are said to be able to forecast weather and to sense the approach of death. If a rookery (the nesting area of rooks) were abandoned, it was said to bring bad fortune for the family that owned the land.

6. A bolt of lightning is symbolic. It is represents the punishment of humans from the Gods. In dreams, lightning is a symbol of a terrible event and negativity. Being struck by lightning is lethal.

7. Angels are symbols of good and evil spirits in religions around the world. The angel of death reflects man’s unsure nature toward death, as death is very difficult for many of us to cope with. The angel of death, or grim reaper allows us to embody the concept of death into a tangible creature. The idea of the angel of death is thousands of years old.