Sylvia Plath Poem Critical Appreciation of " The Bee Meeting "

Critical Appreciation of " The Bee

Meeting"

BY SYLVIA PLATH

INTRODUCTION AND THEME

The poem THE BEE MEETING is basically Sylvia Plath’s desperate attempt to recover her lost identity. The bee meeting described in the poem is a beekeeper's ritual. The occasion is a transfer of swarm of bees from one box (hive) to another. It takes place with the change of rule. The old queen is killed and succeeded by the new queen. After the death of the old queen, the old box is deserted and the swarm shifts to another box.
The poem represents the life of women in the west. The affairs, marriage, and divorces, disloyalty of male lovers and the resulting frustration are reflected in the poem. The poem is of confessional type. The poet describes her own experiences and events of life that she was forbearing in her life. The bee poem gives the poets relation to her neighbors, children, husband, other women and herself, as well as her place in history.

CRITICAL APPRECIATION

BEGINNING

The BEE MEETING is the first poem of the volume THE ARIEL. Here the speaker finds in the midst of other people.

THE RECTOR, THE MIDWIFE, THE SEXTON, THE AGENT FOR BEES
THE BUTCHER, THE GROCER, THE POSTMAN, SOMEONE I KNOW

The poet must be feeling lone and fearful of her neighbors and the other villagers. She refers to the villagers which all appear to be doing something specifically to the bee or to her, it may be due to her mental disorder due to her inner and personal conflicts. She may express her fear to lose all her individuality and to become common.

PLACE AND TIME

The place and time of the meeting suggest that the speaker is a moving stage. She meets the townspeople at the bridge which is a symbol of the place of connection between the divided locales or a site of change.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AT THE BRIDGE TO MEET ME? THEY ARE
THE VILLAGERS___

The manner in which the speaker is dressed confirms about the time of the year which is summer, as stated
IN MY SLEEVELESS SUMMERY DRESS
CONFUSION AND GLOOMY TONE

The poem is constructed in a gothic and gloomy tone. The confused state of mind of the poet is evident by her confused questions, her inability to recognize familiar faces, repetitions which shows her confused state of mind. She also utilizes themes of violence and death. She discusses metaphors of violence, a mixed description of the atmosphere of both death, funeral, ritual and ceremony.
QUESTIONS AND RIDDLES
The poem opens and closes with questions and is riddled with questions throughout. Most of the stanzas include questions. Through much of the poem, the speaker tries to answer them herself, but when the last line closes the poem with yet another question, obviously it cannot be answered in this poem.
The questions are
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AT THE BRIDGE TO MEET ME?
WHICH IS THE RECTOR NOW, IS IT THAT MAN IN BLACK?
WHICH IS THE MIDWIFE, IS THAT HER BLUE COAT?
IS SOME OPERATION TAKING PLACE?
IS IT THE BUTCHER, THE GROCER, THE POSTMAN, SOMEONE I KNOW?
WHAT HAVE THEY ACCOMPLISHED ?

Such confused questions reflect her inner conflict and disorientation. Her sense of alienation from her neighbors shows that she can not tolerate them. As a poet, isolation is necessary in order to achieve their own identity. In this manner, she might explore and pursue a new direction. The questions show that she is in fear of something invisible.
FEAR AND SENSE OF ENDANGER
The poet feels that she is in endangered by the villagers. But there is no such description of the actions of the villagers that might appear suspicious, it is that she believes her dealings with the villagers in the collective life as the disaster. Her own perceptions are exaggerated with a dangerous and frightening expression:
STRIPS OF TIN FOIL WINKING LIKE PEOPLE
FEATHER DUSTERS FANNING THEIR HEADS IN A SEA OF BEAN FLOWERS
CREAMY BEAN FLOWERS WITH BLACK EYES AND LEAVES LIKE BORED HEARTS
IS IT BLOOD CLOTS THE TENDRILS ARE DRAGGING UP THAT STRING?
NO, NO IT IS SCARLET FLOWERS THAT WILL ONE DAY BE EDIBLE
THEY ARE LEADING ME TO THE SHORN GROVE, THE CIRCLE OF HIVES
IS IT THE HAWTHORN THAT SMELLS SO SICK?
THE BAREN BODY OF HAWTHORN, AUTHORIZING ITS CHILDREN
The eyes of the bean flowers are black, bruised; their leaves are like pierced hearts; their flowers like blood clots; and the hawthorn killing its own offspring. Such a frightening description gives a monstrous impression of humanity and thus cause an effect of dehumanizing the whole environment.
It is shown that the poetess contains inner fear in her mind, from the surrounding world. She has been feeling insecure throughout her life. This sense of insecurity deprives her of her self will or authority.
IN MY SLEEVELESS SUMMERY DRESS, I HAVE NO PROTECTION
UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION
There is also a discussion of her desire, effort and intention to become aware of the whole situation. She intends to understand that what is going on around her and for that purpose she inquires a few confusing questions. Such confusing questions such as the psychological aspect of her mind. She is involved and observant in the outer world but she is incapable of the unconscious feelings going in her mind and heart.
DEATH
The theme of death and darkness is an integral part of her poetry. She believes her self as the old queen bee who has to be either killed or expelled from the hive in which she lives.
SHE IS OLD, OLD, OLD
Frightened by the thought, she misinterprets the actions of the villagers of smoking the hive, while there is no apparently suspicious action of the villagers
SMOKE ROLLS AND SCARVES IN THE GROVE
THE MIND OF THE HIVE THINGS THIS IS THE END OF EVERYTHING
Rather than choosing herself to be killed by others, she opts to die herself. Her own suicidal attempt is similar to the killing of the queen bee, as she had put her head in the gas stove, while the gas was on.
She expresses her exhaustion from her unsuccessful married life as she says;
I AM EXHAUSTED, I AM EXHAUSTED

The theme of death is fully reflected in the manner as she compares the dead body of the old queen bee to the corpse of a human. The poet turns cold as she encounters the dead body of the queen bee
WHOSE IS THAT LONG WHITE BOX IN THE GROVE, WHAT HAVE THEY
ACCOMPLISHED, WHY AM I COLD.

IMAGERY AND TECHNIQUE
The poem is very narrative in its nature. The central figure of the poem is the poetess herself

The poem is very narrative in its nature. The central figure of the poem is the poetess herself. The usage of the first-person image represents the poetess as a woman. The queen bee is also a metaphor of a woman who has developed a hatred for male dominating society. The mode of narration is based on the sensitive perception of a certain situation.
The poem is highly packed with metaphors and similes. Each line requires deep understanding at the surface level. The metaphors used include QUEEN, VIRGINS etc. These lines are also full of images and comparisons. The description of the bean flowers reflects the perfect imagery.
The tone of the poem is very feminine in nature. The way of expressing the movements of bees is also full of feminine or female impressions. There is also a pessimistic expression which reflects the inner despair and depressions of the poetess.

CONCLUSION

The poem THE BEE MEETING is basically the representation of the gathering at the funeral as well as a marriage procession, in order to watch the killing of the old queen bee and help in the installation of the new one. The atmosphere of the poem is fearful, frightening and the end it turns gloomy. Such a description shows the mental disorder of the poet due to her self-created exaggeration and personal or inner conflict. It may also reflect her hatred against the Patriarchal society. But as a whole, the poem is a perfect of the reflection of the ideology and the mentality of the poet, as well as her poetic capabilities.

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