Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lynn Emanuel’s poem "Spite-Homage to Sylvia Plath" is a profound and intense exploration of the themes of death, rebirth, and transformation through a powerful, almost visceral connection to Sylvia Plath's work and personal struggles. Emanuel's poem weaves together admiration and envy, a longing for both obliteration and rebirth, and a desire to transcend human vulnerabilities by becoming part of the natural world.

The opening of the poem is charged with emotion: "I stamped my feet and shook my fist and wept." This visceral reaction sets the tone for a deeply personal and tumultuous exploration of identity in relation to Plath, whose own work often grappled with themes of death and self-destruction. Emanuel's desire "to be one of that glamorous sorority of the dead" reflects a complex fascination with the romanticized aspects of Plath's tragic end, suggesting a yearning not just for death but for the poetic allure associated with Plath’s legacy.

Emanuel's longing "to feel the rib cage opened, the knocking of the heart let out" evokes a desire for liberation from the constraints of the physical and emotional body, echoing Plath's intense and often painful introspection. The image of lying "with the paperweight of the Bible on my chest" further intensifies this desire, bringing in elements of finality and judgment, perhaps alluding to Plath’s struggle with religious and existential themes.

The poet expresses a wish to be a disruptive force in Plath's life, metaphorically described as the "root you fell over, the curb of earth that made you stumble." This line suggests an intimate, albeit destructive, connection with Plath’s personal torments, wanting to embody the very obstacles that might have tripped her up. Emanuel extends this notion by wishing to become "the little poisonous selves that grew up in your gardens," like the henbane and belladonna—plants that are beautiful yet deadly, mirroring the dual nature of Plath’s poetic allure and her personal demons.

Emanuel's desire for "revenge" and to be "the meek inheriting" moves beyond mere identification with Plath's struggles—it’s a longing for empowerment and transformation, to transcend human pain and "come back as the vegetal, the spectacular amphibian welter of the swamp, the pond, the marsh, the fen." This represents a wish to dissolve into nature, to lose the human form and its associated sufferings, and to continually "begin again and again" in forms that are resilient and ever-regenerating.

Ultimately, the poem culminates in the desire "to be all mind, no flesh, no thinking, all feeling, just IS taking everything into its bog, its tar pit, into the locked box of unbeing." This paradoxical desire—to exist intensely yet without the burdens of physical existence or conscious thought—captures the essence of Emanuel’s complex relationship with Plath. It speaks to a longing for a state of pure, unmediated being that transcends the limitations of the human condition.

"Spite-Homage to Sylvia Plath" is a powerful testament to the way Plath’s poetic legacy continues to inspire and provoke, eliciting a deep, emotional, and sometimes conflicted response from other poets. Emanuel’s engagement with Plath is both a tribute and a personal reckoning, a poetic dialogue that spans time and speaks to the enduring impact of Sylvia Plath's life and work.

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