Th Arrival of the Bee box

Theme

• poem about power and control
• bees may be symbolic of the poet's darker impulses - side of her personality she doesnt want to set free
• she fears the bees may harm her if released
• fears that by exploring her feelings it may be destructive - might be safer to keep her thoughts under control
• yet ideas and feelings swarm around her mind just as the bees swarm around the box

Verse Seven

The Arrival of the Bee Box

• poet begins to feel less worried about the threat posed by the bees
• she reasons that she is no source of honey so why would they bother with her
• if she wore her beekeeper's suit they would probably take no notice of her
• beekeeper's veil is likened to the veil worn by women at a funeral
• poet decides to set them free the next day - taking delight in her right to exercise her power over them
• final line is optimistic as the poet says the box is only temporary

Verse Six

• she shows a more compassionate side when she wonders how hungry they are
• she wonders what might happen if she released them - she has moved on from thoughts of allowing them to die
• perhaps the bees will ignore her if she blends into the background
• laburnum/cherry tree reinforce how the natural world is colourful and beautiful in comparison to the dark confinement of the bee box

Verse Two/Three/Four/Five

Background

• repetition "dark" "black"- emphasises the darkness of the darkness of the box, underlining the sinister, threatening atmosphere
• image -portrays the bees as African slaves - African workers brought to England and America; bees are also shipped in to work
• personification of bees may be a reflection of Plath's own feelings of anger and frustration with the sense of confinement in her own life
• noise of the bees at first horrifies the speaker - simile compares them to a mob - she is in awe but also terrified of their collective power
• noise is likened to "furious Latin" incomprehensible - yet she senses their anger
• feels she cannot control them - I am not Caesar
• "box of maniacs" - idea of something uncontrollable
• comforts herself in the fact that she is the owner and that she can send them back - she has the power not to feed them and they will die

Sylvia Plath's father was an expert on bees, and in 1962 Plath and her husband decided to take up bee-keeping. The poem is a description of the arrival of the first box of bees.

Verse One/Two

• Poem opens on a note of surprise - straightforward, narrative-like
• Seems a little astonished that she is responsible for the arrival of the box of bees
• word 'ordered' is important as it introduces the idea of control
• note of strangeness - something unsettling by use of simile "square as a chair"
• Image "I would say it was a coffin of a midget/Or a square baby" suggestive of death and deformity - gives the box a sinister quality - sombre/frightening tone
• speaker is struck by the noise coming from the box - cant be likened to a coffin for long - noise suggests life
• ambivalent attitude to it - fascinated yet frightened - can't keep away
• bees seem angry at being trapped - this confinement of something loud and potentially dangerous maybe a symbol of the poet's repression of her darkest thoughts
• poetry may even be a way of containing emotions and feelings which may otherwise swarm out of control
• her inability to see in to the box heightens her curiosity - evokes a sense of claustrophobia
• startling imagery - peering in the little grid - speaker senses oppressive atmosphere