Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"I Want, I Want" by Sylvia Plath explores the complexities of desire, infancy, and creation, and seems to touch on the inherent tensions between parent and child, creator and creation. The poem appears to juxtapose the primitive, almost carnal needs of a "baby god" with the stoicism and calculated actions of an "inveterate patriarch." Through vivid imagery and rich symbolism, Plath examines the emotions and conflicts that pervade familial, divine, and perhaps even cosmic relationships.

The opening stanza introduces us to the "baby god," a figure who is "immense" but "baby-headed." It's a perplexing image-one of vulnerability and power existing simultaneously. This god is not yet self-sufficient; it cries "for the mother's dug," invoking the imagery of infancy, of a being reliant on maternal care for sustenance. However, it's not a comforting environment that this child-god inhabits; rather, it is one of "dry volcanoes," a landscape that "cracked and split." It is a realm of inhospitable, even destructive, nature.

Moving to the second stanza, the focus shifts from the maternal to the paternal. The baby god's longing now extends to "the father's blood." The father here is a creator of dangerous, predatory things like "wasp, wolf, and shark," and has "engineered the gannet's beak." These creations are aggressive and perhaps serve as an allegory for the harsh, competitive aspects of the world. The image of the father suggests a deity who presides over a realm of conflict and survival, but also of awe-inspiring precision and beauty.

In stark contrast to the baby god, the "inveterate patriarch" of the third stanza does not express desires. He is "Dry-eyed," focused on raising "his men of skin and bone." There's a militaristic tone to his creations, emphasized by "barbs on the crown of gilded wire" and "thorns on the bloody rose-stem." The patriarch's world is one of strife and struggle, even if it is beautifully adorned.

The poem seems to dwell in a space of paradoxes and oppositions-need versus indifference, creation versus destruction, vulnerability versus power. Plath beautifully captures the tension between yearning and the inability or unwillingness to fulfill it. The father and the child-god appear to exist in worlds that are inherently incompatible yet intertwined in a loop of desire and non-satisfaction.

In essence, "I Want, I Want" delves deep into the themes of unfulfilled needs and the dichotomies that exist within relationships, be they familial, divine, or cosmic. Plath's narrative is rich with images that are simultaneously raw and intricate, piecing together a tale that challenges our understanding of dependency, love, and the complex act of creation.

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