Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Sylvia Plath's poem "Alicante Lullaby" paints a vivid portrait of a bustling Spanish town, awash in sensory experiences that range from auditory to visual. The poem captures the dichotomy between the frenzied cacophony of Alicante's streets and the speaker's longing for reprieve, perhaps sleep. Written in tercets, each stanza contains a vibrant scenario featuring Alicante's multi-layered soundscape.

The rhyme scheme of "Alicante Lullaby" is not uniform throughout the poem, but the poet employs occasional end rhymes to punctuate the tercets. There are instances where the first and third lines rhyme, as in "barrels" and "quarrels" or "down" and "crown," but these are more the exception than the rule. Generally, the rhyme scheme is irregular, allowing the poem to maintain a conversational tone.

From "yellow-paella eateries" to "cocks and hens" in "roofgardens," Plath builds an atmosphere rich in detail. One can practically hear the "barrels / Bumblingly" rolling over cobbles and visualize the "ramshackle back-alley balconies." These serve as auditory and visual cues, painting a canvas of urban chaos and vigor.

The poem also indulges in an intense orchestration of sound for its own sake. Words like "Bumblingly," "ding," "indigo fizzle," "sibliant," "boom," "Rumbas," and "sambas" come together to form a mosaic of sounds that invite the reader into Alicante's auditory landscape.

Additionally, Plath uses a varied vocabulary to create almost an onomatopoeic experience. Words like "cackles," "ding," and "fizzle" mirror the actual sounds they represent. This careful choice of words adds a layer of authenticity to the depiction of the town. It's not just a place being described-it's an experience being relayed.

Yet, in the midst of this aural deluge, the speaker turns towards "Cacophony, goddess of jazz and of quarrels," as if beseeching her for respite. The auditory complexity of the place reaches a crescendo, like a musical composition, until it climaxes in a plea for silence. The speaker yearns for musical terms representing silence and softness-"pianissimo," "lullayed"-against the backdrop of "con brios," "capricciosos," "crescendos," and "prestos."

This longing for quietude is not just an individual whim but serves to highlight a universal human experience. In an ever-noisy world, the quest for a moment's peace becomes a shared aspiration. This is emphasized by the penultimate line, "My head on the pillow," suggesting a need for rest after the day's sensory overload.

By the end, Plath has not only constructed a poem that acts as a microcosm of Alicante but has also composed an ode to the cacophonous beauty of life itself, with all its intensity and demands for stillness. Through a lush tapestry of sound and imagery, she portrays the poetic nature of dissonance, making "Alicante Lullaby" a compelling argument for finding tranquility amidst chaos.

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