“Snake” by DH Lawrence and “Bee Box” by Sylvia Plath Essay Example

and does not want it to leave, believing it to be royal in nature. As the snake finishes its drink, DH Lawrence describes it dreamily, as if drunk. By personifying the snake as being drunk, he portrays it as human-like and thus, kingly. The pace of the poem slows down dramatically after stating that the animal has become intoxicated with water, and he observes that it slowly turns its head. By drawing a parallel between drunkenness in humans and the snake's slow movement, Lawrence once again personifies the snake.

The speed of the poem changes when the snake wants to leave the trough. This enrages DH Lawrence as he does not want this animal to leave (Overcame me now his back was turned). He decides that he must prevent the snake from leaving so he thinks he must anger him and make him stay (I picked up a clumsy log). After this, he feels remorse as he hopes he did not injure the snake (I think I did not hit him). It is then evident that the animal has overcome its drunken state and speeds off (Writhed like lightning, and was gone). DH Lawrence shows respect for the snake as he says (And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords). Thus, he has once again used personification when describing the snake. He also feels guilty for not respecting the snake and lashing out at it, so he acknowledges his wrongdoing.

The text discusses the comparison between two works, Snake and Medallion, which both feature snakes but have different storylines. In Snake, DH Lawrence encounters a snake and mistreats it by attacking it with a

log, expressing regret for his actions. On the other hand, in Medallion, Sylvia Plath discovers a dead snake in her garden and shows care and sadness towards it, as the snake had not harmed anyone. The poem Medallion focuses on Sylvia's attempt to care for a dead snake, evoking feelings of sorrow as she mourns the unjust attack on the innocent creature.

The poem uses vivid colors to describe various elements, such as the snake and its surroundings. For instance, the snake is depicted as a "bronze snake" lying in the sun. Other colors mentioned in the poem include "orange wood," a tongue that is a "rose colored arrow," and "vermilion." Sylvia discovers the snake in the garden and perceives that it is not fully dead, but only injured. She decides to examine the snake while it is lying in the sun. At first, this leads readers to believe that the snake is alive. However, upon realizing its true state, Sylvia tries to portray the snake as having died in combat by stating that it is "going under the chain mail."

Sylvia utilizes personification in the poem, specifically with the phrase "Unhinged and his grin crooked." While snakes do not have crooked grins and their jaws unhinge when eating, in this context, it symbolizes a dead snake with its jaws lifeless and hanging down. Furthermore, in the last verse, Sylvia introduces a Caesura to disrupt the rhythm, allowing for a more horrific depiction and emphasizing how she has transformed the snake into an honorable soldier. However, it is revealed that the snake was killed by a brick.

The connection between the poems "Medallion" and "The Arrival of

the Bee Box" lies in their shared theme of cruelty. However, one source of cruelty is attributed to a gardener while the other stems from Sylvia's annoyance at the noise produced by the bees. Sylvia does not feel responsible for these bees and does not care for them. The poem centers around Sylvia's dilemma of what to do with the box of bees she receives, as she wonders aloud, "How can I let them out?"

Sylvia is frightened of the bees and does not consider herself to be in control of them. She dislikes the bees because they are noisy and their noise affects her negatively. She associates the small box she is dealing with in the opening verse with death, specifically the coffin of a midget. Sylvia then becomes aware of the loud noise produced by the bees.

She perceives the locked box as a threat to her safety and believes it is dangerous. She also suggests that the bees might feel claustrophobic because they are confined to a small box, as she states, "There is only a little grid, no exit." Sylvia employs repetition to emphasize her point, expressing, "It is dark, dark." Additionally, she remarks, "Minute and shrunken for export," alluding to the gruesome history of slavery where black people were tightly packed into ships for transportation to the new world. Similarly, the bees are housed in a small box for transportation purposes. Sylvia poses a rhetorical question in the poem: "How can I let them out?" However, due to her intense fear, she adamantly refuses to release them.

She believes that by not feeding the bees (They can die, I don't need to feed

them anything since I am the owner0), she can control them. This reflects a change in her perception of the bees as she now claims ownership over them, whereas before she did not consider them as her own. She is now unsure whether to release them and whether they are hungry (I wonder how hungry they are). Sylvia also employs a metaphor in the poem when she says, "If I just undid the lock and stood back and turned into a tree." By this, she means that if she simply opened the box door and stood there, the bees would not pay any attention to her.

Sylvia expresses her inability to leave the bees alone due to the blossoming trees and resulting pollen. She mentions the presence of laburnum, characterized by its blond colonnades. Sylvia acknowledges that she does not possess the ability to produce honey, leading her to believe that the bees will abandon her. Nevertheless, she feels it is unjust to confine the bees in a box and plans to set them free the next day, assuming the role of a benevolent deity. She reflects that the box was merely a temporary storage place for them. The connection between the arrival of the Bee Box and the presence of horses lies in their mutual fear of each other. However, Sylvia ultimately learns to control her own feelings and perceives liberation through releasing the bees. In contrast, Edwin Muir's fear stems from childhood memories, causing him to question why he was once afraid of such horses.

This poem depicts Edwin's childhood experiences on his parents' farm, where he observed the horses with a sense of fear.

The poet's attitude is one of apprehension, describing the horses as "terrible" and "wild and strange." The poem begins with Edwin gazing out of his home's window, watching the horses diligently ploughing the fields. He recalls how intimidating they seemed when he was a young child: "They seemed so wild and so strange". Edwin imagines that he has been transported back to his childhood, referring to the possibility of "some childish hour" returning. In the following stanza, he describes how the horses moved slowly, likening their hooves to pistons in an old-fashioned mill.

Another quote that complements this idea is (Moves up and down yet seems standing still). When observing pistons, their repetitive up and down motion gives the impression of stationary movement, just like the horses he witnessed. Edwin attempts to convey the potential danger of these horses by stating (Their conquering hooves which trod the stubble down). He mentions (And their great bulk) to emphasize their size, but now he fails to see why they are considered frightening based on his childhood perception. In the fifth verse, he extensively uses words associated with fire to describe the horses. Continuing with the theme of their mysterious and threatening nature, he describes them as (And warm and glowing with a mysterious fire). Edwin suggests that the horses possess an internal fire, hence his use of fire-related terminology.

According to the speaker, the horses appear much larger at night compared to during the day (They came and they seemed gigantic in the gloom). This is because children have vivid imaginations, making them appear scarier at night. The speaker also describes the power of these horses by mentioning their

eyes (Gleamed with a cruel apocalyptic light). Towards the end of the poem, the speaker repeats (Ah now it fades! It fades!) to indicate that he is moving away from his childhood dream of growing up on his family farm. In the final verse, the speaker mentions a blank field and a still standing tree.

He has visited the sight and all that remains of the farm. Based on my observation, it seems that Snake and Medallion are both centered around snakes, but the writers have distinct encounters with them. In both instances, they come face to face with snakes; however, in one case, the snake is deceased while in the other, it is drinking. In Medallion, the snake is regarded as a soldier fallen in battle, whereas in Snake, the snake is initially treated respectfully but then attacked by the writer using a log. The remaining two works involve entirely different animal encounters. In Arrival of the Bee Box, the poet expresses fear towards bees, which is similarly experienced by the writer in Horses who is scared of horses.

The poem that I enjoyed the most was "The Arrival of the Bee Box" because it explores the fear and uncertainty that can come with something new. In the end, the speaker realizes she cannot confine the bees in the box and chooses to set them free.