Symbolism In Sylvia Plath's Tulips

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Recommended: Use of imagery in sylvia plath poems

Kasey Callahan
Professor Diana Vecchio
ENGL-102: Literary Genres (Section B)
2 April 2014
Symbolism in Sylvia’s “Tulips”
Throughout Sylvia Plath’s life and the time period that she grew up in, it is understandable why she was always discontent with the opportunities that were offered to her as a writer. Growing up during WWII where it darkened the mood of the nation, Plath went through various periods of depression, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts, which are shown in her works (Neurotic Poets 1). In today’s literature, “her work is singled out for the intense coupling of its violent or disturbed imagery and its playful use of alliteration and rhyme” (Poets 1). While on the surface, Sylvia Plath’s poem “Tulips” discusses the contrast between the colorful and vivid bouquet and the barren, whiteness of the hospital walls, one can also explore other symbolic contrasts represented: life and death, family and aloneness.
As the poem progresses, a color comparison between the tulips and the hospital walls is seen. The bright red color of the tulips symbolizes optimism in life, whereas the whiteness of the hospital walls symbolizes non-existence and emptiness. Early in the poem, Plath states: “The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here. / Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in” (Plath l. 1-2). With this being said however, the whiteness of the hospital room walls represent the quiet and calm atmosphere that she craves for. Due to this comparison in color, it is evident that Plath wants nothing to do with the outside world when she states that the bright red color “bothers” her: “The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me. / Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe / Lightly, through their wh...

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...n Plath wanting the “gift” of life, she desires the “gift” of death.
Most people find Sylvia Plath’s life and work depressing, but they need to understand the pressures that she had a well known female writer in that time. Due to the many life crises that Sylvia Plath experienced throughout her lifetime, it is evident on why she wrote the way she did. Between the burden that WWII placed on the country and her own personal issues going on during her life, Sylvia Plath battled depression for many years and eventually committed suicide in 1963. Even though readers have viewed Sylvia Plath’s works as bleak, she has received much recognition for her ability as a female writer. To this day, there is controversy over her writing and legacy. A poem like “Tulips” shows her battle and struggle between life and death and her desire for solitude and escape from her family.

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