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A level English Literature Poetry Coursework (grade a)
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A creative response to Sylvia Plath's poem Mushrooms for AQA alevel English Literature coursework using feminist perspective
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AQA Non-Exam Assessment Theory and Independence - Poetry Assignment.Write a partner poem to Sylvia Plath’s ‘Mushrooms’ that might appear within Plath's
collection, The Colossus, which explores the potential in the ideas of a following morning,
and mushrooms 'inheriting the earth'
Use ideas from the critical anthology to explore Plath’s and your own re-creative piece in
your commentary.
A Numb Sky
Unknown but never truly unnoticed,
Her heaven longs to be expressed
Upon the blank canvas of his bland blue sky.
But tragically so. The cruelty of the signature lies bestowed.
For the emotions of the Cloud had been exposed.
The Cloud’s tears terrorise the world below.
The Cloud longs for a gentle change.
A change in which could maybe humanise a world
So selfishly deranged.
“To be human, maybe their world would not be so cruel?”
Oh but dear Cloud, it is painful here too
The blissful ignorance of a corrupt society consumes humanity too.
But as the rain continued, the spring began to dawn.
Her pain and her torment
Allowed the beauty of the world to be born.
For look at the sky
And there you shall see,
A cloud expressing herself as free as can be.
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, ‘A Numb Sky’ embraces the same metaphorical style of poetry that Sylvia Plath occasionally
experimented with when she wanted to create distance from herself and the topic that she
was exploring. Although traditionally known as a confessional poet, Plath used metaphorical
poetry to discuss subjects which were not just personal to herself but instead a community.
For example in ‘Mushrooms’, a metaphorical piece, she uses the plural of “us” to represent
the female sex but in ‘Full Fathom Five’, a confessional poem which explores ideas of grief,
she uses the pronoun “I.” Mushrooms explores the idea of female oppression through the
characteristics of a Mushroom, a feature of nature which grows slowly and unnoticeably, but
nevertheless, still emerges from the ground that conceals it. The idea is influenced by
Matthew 5:5 which states “blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit earth” - the belief that
the oppressed (“meek”) will be rewarded for their fight against oppression in the ‘morning.’ In
the poem, the morning is a representation of change in a society which values women. The
idea of using nature to personify sexism creates a positive undertone, as the beauty of
nature juxtaposes the poem’s ideas of oppression.
I have been inspired by Plath to use a tercet form in my poem, as the use of three lines
within every stanza embraces the theme of order which compliments the ideas of rebellion in
‘Mushrooms’ and ‘A Numb Sky’ as the form is strict and a feature of traditional poetry.
Although the protagonist of both poems do eventually ‘inherit the earth’ in the conclusions of
their poems, the tercet form effectively creates a subtle reminder to the reader that the threat
of an ordered patriarchal society still looms over the protagonist. Although its authority has
been decreased, the strictness of order still lingers. The form encourages the poem’s
contents to remain ordered and composed as it obeys the controlled three line stanza.
Although her form embraces order, the contents of Mushrooms rebel against it therefore
enabling her rebellion to go visibly unnoticed, similarly to the poem’s Mushrooms who
maintain undetected which further establishes a relationship between herself and nature. It
can be suggested that Plath’s use of a tercet form is what introduces the idea of
ecofeminism into her poem as although she has already established “a new relationship
between woman, man and nature.” (Coupe pp 302-303) Plath further develops this
relationship by introducing “a movement which resists both the domination of nature by
humanity and the domination of women by men.” (Coupe pp 302-303) In Mushrooms, the
most apparent movement is the protagonists attempt to “inherit the earth”, however with the
understanding of Plath’s use of tercet form, it can be suggested that ‘her’ movement is her
aspiration to rebel against a patriarchal society.
I have used the phrase “unknown but never truly unnoticed” to introduce the poem to the
reader and the phrasing of this is compelling as with no context, the reader does not
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