David Qu

“The whole season, sloven”: Sylvia Plath's Use of Seasons
“Bronzed as earth.../ turned bitter as any lemon” (Persephone 13-25). Sylvia Plath, author of “Two Sisters of Persephone”, “Spinster”, and many other poems, often uses imagery as symbols for other, more complex things. “Two Sisters of Persephone” is a poem about two girls, one who is free to enjoy nature, and one that is forced to work. “Spinster” is about a woman who is about to be married, but starts to have second thoughts. Plath uses imagery in these poems to show how theres characters feel. Sylvia Plath uses the seasons of winter and spring as well as symbols connected to them in order to convey to the reader themes of rejuvenation and bitterness, but each feeling is not necessarily represented by a certain season.
Feelings of hope and rejuvenation can be found in both spring and winter. In “Two Sisters of Persephone”, these feelings are represented by images of spring. Plath writes “Bronzed as earth... / Like pollen on bright air. Lulled / Near a bed of poppies” (“Persephone”, 13-16) when she talks about the girl that is free to enjoy nature. Plath shows to the reader that the girl who is free still has hope. However, the main character of “Spinster” strongly prefers winter of spring, which can be seen though the positive way that winter images are used. “How she longed for winter then!– / Scrupulously austere in its order / Of white and black / ice and rock;” (“Spinster” 13-16). The girl would rather have order instead of disorder. She wanted winter over spring because to her, winter was painstakingly strict in the way it was ordered.
Plath also transitions from hope to bitterness when she changes seasons. In “Two Sisters of Persephone”, she writes: “She bears a king. Turned bitter / and sallow as any lemon” (24-25). Due to Plath's use of enjambment between stanzas 6 and 7, it is clear that she transitions from hope to bitterness, from spring to winter. When the free girl becomes pregnant, she “Grows quick with seed” (“Persephone” 22). When she bears her child, it is almost as if the 'fruit of her loins' has ripened. The use of a lemon for this metaphor is perfect because lemons flower in the spring and ripen in the winter, much like the woman being impregnated in the spring, “how her red silk flare /... [Burning open to the sun's blade” (“Persephone” 17-19), and having her child in the winter as the imagery changes to that of winter. “Spinster”, however, lacks definite transitions due to its complete lack of enjambment.
Spring and winter also carry the feelings of bitterness. In “Spinster”, Plath writes about spring in a very negative manner. “[She] Found herself, of a sudden, intolerably struck / By the bird's irregular babel / And the leaves' litter” (4-6). When the main character is about to be married “[during] a ceremonious april walk” (2), she describes her bitter feelings about marriage. She says, like spring, the marriage will be disorderly. Also, Plath's unusual capitalization of April shows her distaste for spring. For “Two Sisters of Persephone”, Plath uses winter images as a way to show bitterness. “In her dark wainscoted room” (“Persephone” 5). When she talks about a room that is dark and has wood paneling for lining interior walls, it brings up an image of a winter cabin. She also writes about death and graveyards, which are also commonly associated with winter.
In “Two Sisters of Persephone” Plath associates feelings of hope and rejuvenation to spring and bitterness to winter. Imagery used in “Spinster” for spring show to the reader feelings of hope, while images of spring have negative connotations.
Word Count: 601