Wintering by Sylvia Plath Summary

This is the easy time, there is nothing doing.
I have whirled the midwife’s extractor,
I have my honey,
Six jars of it,
Six cat’s eyes in the wine cellar,

Wintering in a dark without window
At the heart of the house
Next to the last tenant’s rancid jam
and the bottles of empty glitters ——
Sir So-and-so’s gin.

This is the room I have never been in
This is the room I could never breathe in.
The black bunched in there like a bat,
No light
But the torch and its faint

Chinese yellow on appalling objects ——
Black asininity. Decay.
Possession.
It is they who own me.
Neither cruel nor indifferent,

Only ignorant.
This is the time of hanging on for the bees—the bees
So slow I hardly know them,
Filing like soldiers
To the syrup tin

To make up for the honey I’ve taken.
Tate and Lyle keeps them going,
The refined snow.
It is Tate and Lyle they live on, instead of flowers.
They take it. The cold sets in.

Now they ball in a mass,
Black
Mind against all that white.
The smile of the snow is white.
It spreads itself out, a mile-long body of Meissen,

Into which, on warm days,
They can only carry their dead.
The bees are all women,
Maids and the long royal lady.
They have got rid of the men,

The blunt, clumsy stumblers, the boors.
Winter is for women ——
The woman, still at her knitting,
At the cradle of Spanis walnut,
Her body a bulb in the cold and too dumb to think.

Will the hive survive, will the gladiolas
Succeed in banking their fires
To enter another year?
What will they taste of, the Christmas roses?
The bees are flying. They taste the spring.

“Wintering” by Sylvia Plath is a poem that explores themes of survival, renewal, and the struggle for identity.

Stanza 1: In this stanza, the speaker talks about a quiet time when nothing much is happening. She mentions having collected honey and stored it in jars in a dark cellar. This stanza sets the scene for the poem, introducing the concept of “wintering” as a time of rest and preparation.

Stanza 2: Here, the speaker describes the cellar where the honey is stored. She mentions finding old items left behind by previous occupants, like rancid jam and bottles of gin. This stanza creates a sense of darkness and decay, reflecting the speaker’s mood.

Stanza 3: The speaker reflects on her own feelings of unease as she enters the cellar. She describes feeling like she’s in a dark, suffocating space where she’s never been before. This stanza conveys a sense of anxiety and discomfort.

Stanza 4: In this stanza, the speaker continues to describe the darkness of the cellar and the objects within it. She uses vivid imagery to convey a sense of decay and possession, suggesting that the darkness has a hold on her. This stanza emphasizes the speaker’s feeling of being trapped.

Stanza 5: The speaker shifts her focus to the bees, which are also “wintering” in the cold. She describes them as slow and lethargic, needing to be fed sugar to survive. This stanza highlights the theme of survival and the struggle to endure through difficult times.

Stanza 6: Here, the speaker reflects on the bees’ dependence on sugar for sustenance. She compares it to the cold setting in, signaling the harshness of winter. This stanza underscores the challenges of survival and the need for external support.

Stanza 7: The speaker observes the bees forming a mass to stay warm in the cold. She describes them as black against the white snow, symbolizing their struggle for survival. This stanza conveys a sense of unity and resilience among the bees.

Stanza 8: In this stanza, the speaker focuses on the female bees, who are the survivors after the males have died off. She compares them to women, suggesting a connection between femininity and resilience. This stanza highlights the strength of women in the face of adversity.

Stanza 9: The speaker reflects on the role of women during winter, symbolizing a time of hardship and struggle. She describes a woman knitting by the fire, representing the resilience of the female spirit. This stanza emphasizes the theme of femininity and endurance.

Stanza 10: Finally, the speaker wonders if the hive and the flowers will survive the winter. She mentions the taste of Christmas roses, symbolizing hope for the future. This stanza ends on a note of optimism, suggesting that spring and renewal are on the horizon.

In summary, “Wintering” by Sylvia Plath is a poem that explores themes of survival, renewal, and the struggle for identity through vivid imagery and introspective reflection.