https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0 Traditional Approach en-us 2017-04-06 14:30:45 UTC 2025-11-11 02:14:45 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Apple.png teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/165159030 I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it--


A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My face a featureless, fine
Jew linen.


Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?--



The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.



Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me



And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.


This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.


What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see


Them unwrap me hand and foot--
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies



These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,


Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.


The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut


As a seashell.
They had to call and call
And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls.


Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.


I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call.


It's easy enough to do it in a cell.
It's easy enough to do it and stay put.
It's the theatrical


Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:


'A miracle!'
That knocks me out.
There is a charge


For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart--
It really goes.


And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood


Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.


I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby


That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.


Ash, ash--
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there—


A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.


Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.


Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.


]]> 2017-04-06 14:43:49 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/165159030 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168165530 2017-04-25 16:41:47 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168165530 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345318 Plath almost drowned at age 10]]> 2017-04-26 12:33:26 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345318 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345552 Plath's first intentional attempt at suicide, she was found in a crawl space covered in worms and vomit.]]> 2017-04-26 12:34:30 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345552 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345862 when Plath says "herr god herr lucifer beware beware" its referring to how god didn't help her so now she wants some sort of revenge

]]> 2017-04-26 12:35:49 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168345862 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168346639 The "charge" could refer to the electroshock therapy she went through.]]> 2017-04-26 12:38:46 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168346639 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168346910 Plath states "i eat men like air". Plath had many bad experiences with men in her life. (father, lover etc..)]]> 2017-04-26 12:39:40 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168346910 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347111 Plath is discussing her encounters with death, when stating "I have done it again. / One year in every ten". ]]> 2017-04-26 12:40:18 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347111 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347452 when Plath says "and like the cat i have nine times to die. This is Number Three." refers to how many times she's tried to commit suicide and this is number 3.]]> 2017-04-26 12:41:24 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347452 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347613 As the poem was published in 1962, various allusions to WWII are made, as it was a recent event on a global scale. This means that the readers would have a reference to the way the narrator, and Plath herself is feeling, as they can relate it to the well known atrocities committed.]]> 2017-04-26 12:42:00 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347613 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347891 The "napkin" could refer to her hidden identity, as she has written under her pen name, Victoria Lucas, multiple times.  ]]> 2017-04-26 12:42:57 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168347891 yanwen_kong_549 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168348052 Plath was famous for her short stories and poems which granted her many scholarships throughout her life. With this high reputation, she begins to feel as if she's developed a napkin (mask) that hides her true identity as someone who is mentally unstable (suffering from her mental illness).  She believes this image is terrifying]]> 2017-04-26 12:43:35 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168348052 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349020 When Plath was twenty, she attempted suicide, overdosed on sleeping pills. ]]> 2017-04-26 12:47:14 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349020 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349073 Plath compares her father to a Nazi doctor, as she had believed that he had in fact committed suicide rather than dying of gangrene, which caused her to resent him rather than mourn him. Additionally, Plath had encounters with various doctors who had attempted to help with her depression, who she also may have resented based on her intention of suicide]]> 2017-04-26 12:47:25 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349073 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349271 this could refer to her many high quality scholarships and straight A marks]]> 2017-04-26 12:48:11 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349271 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349276 During Plath's 6 months of psychiatric care, she most likely felt like she was constantly being watched while she was in a vulnerable state. ]]> 2017-04-26 12:48:12 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349276 yanwen_kong_549 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349397 When she left a note saying that she went on a long walk, the seashell can symbolize Plath when she is alone (when the water leaves)]]> 2017-04-26 12:48:43 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349397 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349489 Plath, listing a wedding ring with these items that are just things with no meaning or sentimental value could refer to the lack of meaning a wedding ring has to her due to her experiences or being cheated on and abandoned ]]> 2017-04-26 12:49:03 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349489 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349620 Plath worked 4am-8am shifts, therefor after work, she would return home in "broad day". ]]> 2017-04-26 12:49:31 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168349620 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350169 "A sort of walking miracle my skin bright as Nazi lampshade my right foot" refers to how her dad was German and died because he had to amputate his foot because of untreated diabetes  ]]> 2017-04-26 12:51:42 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350169 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350171 "The amused shout/A miracle" This refers to her first attempt of suicide at age 20 as it was known as almost successful. The charge that knocks her out could be the electroshock therapy that saved her life]]> 2017-04-26 12:51:43 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350171 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350882 'A miracle' could refer to her doctor friend who gave her anti depressants before she died. The friend could have thought it would help Plath, but she did not agree.]]> 2017-04-26 12:54:17 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168350882 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351231 The narrator is referring to when Sylvia Plath, locked the doors in her house and turned on the gas stove.]]> 2017-04-26 12:55:38 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351231 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351343 "I am your opus / I am your valuable, / The pure gold baby" may be referring to the fact that she WAS once appreciated and loved by her husband; prior to his affair.]]> 2017-04-26 12:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351343 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351485 Body parts dispersed among poem could connect to her father losing his foot due to not taking care of his diabetes.]]> 2017-04-26 12:56:37 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351485 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351486 In correlation to these two comments, Plath did not attempt suicide only twice, she attempted suicide "multiple times" after her marriage fell apart. ]]> 2017-04-26 12:56:37 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351486 yanwen_kong_549 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351505 This may show Plath's fear of facing an audience who applaud the miracle of her return ]]> 2017-04-26 12:56:41 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351505 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351611 referring to plath's car accident and her college suicide attempts]]> 2017-04-26 12:57:00 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168351611 yanwen_kong_549 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168352449 Due to Plath's depression distorting her perceptions, she continues to negatively view people's concern ]]> 2017-04-26 12:59:51 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168352449 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168352538 After her 3rd suicide attempt failed, she feels that she has wasted 30 years]]> 2017-04-26 13:00:11 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168352538 yanwen_kong_549 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168355320 An accidental attempt was made at the age of 10 from drowning, at the age of 20, she first attempted suicide by using her mother's sleeping pills. At the age of 30, she killed herself from carbon monoxide poisoning with gas from stove.]]> 2017-04-26 13:09:17 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168355320 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168357233 "I am a smiling woman" may be furthering her comment about having an alternate facade; hiding the fact that she is struggling with her mental health to avoid being saved. ]]> 2017-04-26 13:15:24 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168357233 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168358127 *Vanishing in a day - will she vanish quickly? Feel like she will be forgotten quickly?
*Grave cave - where she attempted to take her own life?
*Struggle with mental health issues may lead to the idea that she feels at "home" in death]]> 2017-04-26 13:17:58 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168358127 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359361 Cat Cliche - comparison to the cat - has survived multiple encounters with death - idea that she's invincible/new start each time]]> 2017-04-26 13:21:18 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359361 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359394 2017-04-26 13:21:23 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359394 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359538 "Nevertheless, I am the same identical woman" may be referring to how Plath's attitude towards death has not changed.  
Whether her encounters were accidental or not, she constantly viewed death as her ultimate nirvana.]]> 2017-04-26 13:21:47 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168359538 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168360489 Plath wrote this poem only a few months before she died (suicide) - foreshadowing her own death at the age of 30, to usher in the new decade]]> 2017-04-26 13:24:31 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168360489 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168362227 Plath begins to publish more revealing poems about herself - "strip tease" may refer to the revealing/stripping down of herself]]> 2017-04-26 13:29:26 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168362227 https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168390859 "I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real" may be referring to her constant desire for harm, caused by her abundance of self-hatred.]]> 2017-04-26 14:42:55 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168390859 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168611020 Is it a charge in a literal sense? (The electroshock therapy)]]> 2017-04-27 12:42:33 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168611020 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168611790 Plays into Plath putting on a facade - continuously "coming back" to the same life where everyone continues to think she's fine

]]> 2017-04-27 12:46:17 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168611790 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168615197 *Opus - art form, precious jewel
*Plath seeing herself as valuable, superior, amazing 
(followed by melts to a shriek, turn and burn - vulnerability, weakness, etc.)]]> 2017-04-27 12:58:09 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168615197 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168616252 *The ash/burning could refer to the burning of the Jews - Holocaust reference (again link to weakness, loss of identity]]> 2017-04-27 13:01:28 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168616252 teixeiram https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168618909 *Comparing God and Lucifer as equals - God as evil, not good (based on life experiences)]]> 2017-04-27 13:10:39 UTC https://padlet.com/teixeiram/5ejg47cho6e0/wish/168618909