Sylvia Plath Introduction Part 2

Okay, This is part two, and I'm just going to

pick up right where I left off because I ran

out of time there.

I have a 15 minute limit on these, so I'm

looking at this.

So at this stage, and I was kind of rushing

someone slow down here a little bit because we're running

out of time, but I have plenty.

Um, at this stage, we're gonna try and figure out

for the subject.

If we go back to Slims.

Sorry. Pardon me.

Specs in Slims The very first thing we're gonna try

and do is figure out the subject of this problem

if we don't know it.

So for morning song love set you going like a

fat old watch, you figure out OK, somebody is talking

to someone else.

Said you going?

We might not understand what they mean by love Set

going like a faculty watch, but we can figure out

OK, somebody is saying you.

So one person is addressing another person.

The midwife slaps your foot soles.

So we understand that now.

Midwife, someone helps give birth.

Stopped your foot soles.

That's when somebody's born and you're bald.

Cry took its place among the elements.

So you're you imagine a baby after this?

They stopped the foot cells to make them cry.

To make them breathe takes its place among the elements.

Okay, I think we get it.

Uh, there's a baby that's been born.

So it With that in mind, we can now go

back to that first line and say love set you

going like a fat gold watch.

What does this mean?

What set this baby going?

If if you is like a fat gold watch and

a watch Ticks Teoh Oh, that's what I watch Does

right It goes What said it going?

Love? So the baby what made this baby essentially is

love. And you can say this is probably love between

between two partners Or you could interpret it as love

Like my love for you Say you're going like a

gold watch So that's where we can get a sense

of Okay, that's what this poem is about.

Subject. It seems like at least at this point, it's

about a baby.

Let's get going.

Our voices echo magnifying your arrival New statue in a

drafting museum.

Your nakedness shadows are safety.

We stand round blankly as Rawls.

So this is really interesting because it takes a shift

here. When a baby is born, you imagine soft and

cuddly, right?

And yet we're being This is being described as drafting

museum. Your nakedness shadows our safety.

You're a new statue and we stand around blankly as

balls. So you get the sense here than, uh, with

with, ah drafting museum and blankly is walls that perhaps

it's not as warm reception.

Perhaps there's a bit of a disconnect there between the

baby and the parents.

I'm kind of helping you through this, right, But we're

gonna walk through some stuff later.

Um, I'm no more your mother than the cloud that

distills a mirror to reflect its own slow of basement

at the winds hand.

So we have this mother who says I'm no more

your mother than the cloud.

So a cloud that distills a mirror to distill is

like Teoh.

It's almost too, um to filter something, uh, by a

process of like dripping.

So a cloud that distills would be like a cloud

that's raining.

The water's coming down and that mirror when rain falls

to the ground of mix puddles, you have like a

reflection so that a cloud that is distilling ah, puddle

to reflect its own slow of face mint or its

own slow like dissipation, its own slow disappearing.

So it's saying the Clavet fills a mirror.

I am like a cloud, that stills that has you

are the raindrops you've fallen and it makes you It's

almost like I'm falling apart to give life to you.

And I can tell you, as a parent, it often

feels that way where you feel like I'm just giving

these kids my life force and it's exhausting me, right?

We'll talk about this more in class I want.

I want to make sure we understand it.

But I'm just trying to get you through kind of

the big stuff so that you could do some of

the little closer reading on your own.

So, um, we get this confirms the idea that maybe

there is a disconnect there between the baby that's been

born and of the parents, right?

It's not quite the loving w situation that you would

expect. Um, and this is I think there's a societal

expectation that when a baby is born, you'll feel this

powerful thing Um, but I don't think that that's always

the case.

We know it's not always, it's a lot of people

talk about how that the relationship has to develop over

the process of weeks, months and years, right?

Uh oh, yeah.

All night your moth breath flickers among the flat pink

roses. Imagine a moth.

Imagine a moss like fluttering of their wings.

How small, How quiet it ISS.

And the suggestion here is that all night your moth

breath. Small, smallest friend.

Babies are incredible.

They are amazing.

What I and as a parent to do this, you

sit and you watch them just pretty.

And it's the most quiet home, just a spectacular thing.

And it's all night.

Your moth breath flickers among the flat pink roses so

you can imagine this baby in a crib, possibly and

some sort of a cradle of my flat, pink, um,

softness. And the breath is just so quiet.

And the life that you see is just It's miraculous,

right? And she manages to convey that incredibly, I wake

to listen.

Ah, Farsi moves in my ear.

So should you get the sense something starts again to

shift Here, Here we have.

I'll talk about since some, uh, some literary devices later,

but this would be called Volta, where there's a vault.

It would be a major shift in the poem if

I remember correctly, so I have.

I need to review that, but, um and so here

we get most start to get a little bit of

a shift here.

Where up until then there's been almost this cold disconnect,

and now we have this person waking up toe.

Listen, ah far see moves in the U might year,

and you get a sense that something has changed.

One cry and I stumble from bed, couch heavy and

floral in my Victorian nightgown.

And so we see.

Indeed, there is a change.

The baby cries once.

There's just a little a change.

On immediately this, the speaker stumbles out of bed.

Couch heavy suggestion of like feeling heavy is a couches

tired at night, but also the idea that a mother

who's breastfeeding giving the child milk here it gives this

illusion allusions.

Another theory term decided to two cows took how heavy

and floral in my in Victoria nightgown.

So that idea floral again, is a more nurturing feeling

your mouth opens clean as a cat's.

So, um, cats are known for having clean mouse.

We'll talk about that analogy later, but the idea is

the mountain mouth opens on and you see this connection

this bond being formed between what we now knows as

a mother and her baby, the Windows Square whitens and

swallows its dole stars.

So imagine looking out a window and it's dark in

there are stars in the sky and then all of

a sudden it whitens we get that sense that okay,

morning is coming.

And here we get a reference to morning song, this

song, the mother singing to their baby.

And now you try your handful of notes.

The clear vows rise like balloons.

So if we look at this idea of clear vowels,

uh gives us a pretty clear sound.

But being compared to balloons, how light and happy those

are and colorful and bright.

And that's what the baby is connected to.

Let's look at that contrast from the second stands up,

his poems, divided in stances will talk about that in

class. Maheras, we talk about structure and all that.

But as you go back to that second paragraph where

the home is compared to a drafting museum.

And while the baby shadows their safety, they stand around

blankly as walls.

You imagine just these white walls blink Now we have

delusions, clear values, this life, this light, this color has

been brought to it, right?

So I basically I kind of fed that to you,

and I think is a first poem.

It's it's good for me to do that.

However, in the future I will not be telling you

what a polo is about, and you will have to

sit and go through this and he'll have to kind

of figure out what's going on here.

How does this work?

And I'll have you working in groups to do that.

But that was just a little walk through of what

it might mean to say.

OK, what is the subject?

What is literally happening in this poem?

And I will admit that if I'm going through respects

and slams that C will go back to that.

I didn't just do subject there.

I got a little bit into emotion and into some

of the craftsmanship because I couldn't help myself, but really,

you want to focus on trying to make sure that

you have the subject clear for yourself.

Okay. Um, purpose, What is the purpose of this poem?

What would you think?

I'm, uh I'm going to leave this one to you.

That's gonna be a question.

I'll ask you in class on Thursday.

What is the purpose of this poem on, then?

What? Emotions come through to you.

Okay, so I've given you kind of the subject of

what I'm gonna ask you to prepare for Class is

what is the purpose?

What is the emotion and five things about craftsmanship.

So I want you to find five.

This first s here, remember?

Is supposed to be supposed to be structure.

That's my mistake.

Seconds. El is language.

Do you see any language in that?

That's interesting.

Imagery. That's interesting.

This can be sound.

Smell, sight, touch Any of the senses of this fun

sight, Sound, smell, touch teeth.

Um, what is the patient?

Do you feel this poem slows up, speeds down, speeds

up or slows down on How is that accomplished?

Right. And then finally, the sounds.

What are some of the sounds here in this form?

So I'm you just need to find five total.

They don't have to be one from each or anything.

You don't have to find five sounds.

Five language, five imagery.

You just need to find five total.

That might be too language.

One in Madrid, one sound or something like that.

That's and one movement.

That's up to you.

Okay. Oh, I did not.

Well, we're gonna go.

We're gonna have to click through all of these.

That's okay.

Give me a moment.

I will populate this presentation eventually with some examples there.

But for now, I want you to be finding those

and then sounds good.

Great, wonderful.

Let's move on, then.

Eso Let's talk about what you need to prep for

class next time.

Uh, this is the homework to be prepared by Thursday.

So I want you to try out inspect.

Since limbs, I've given you subject, but I'd like you

to come up with what is the purpose?

The emotion on the five points of craftsmanship.

Okay, um and then be ready to share that.

Be ready to share.

I'm looking forward to it.

It's gonna be a lot of fun.

All right, Thanks.

Everybody Have a great day

Sylvia Plath Introduction Part 2

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