Witch Burning by Sylvia Plath Line by Line Explanation

“In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.”

This line sets the scene in a marketplace where dry sticks are being piled up, likely for a witch burning. It suggests a sense of impending danger or violence.

“A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit”

The speaker describes the shadows around them as a poor form of protection or covering. They feel trapped in their own body, like a doll’s body made of wax.

“The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.”

The speaker continues to describe their sense of being trapped in their own body, emphasizing their lack of agency or control.

“Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.”

The speaker feels like they are the target of persecution, as if they are a dartboard for witches. This suggests a feeling of being singled out or victimized.

“Only the devil can eat the devil out.”

This line suggests that only evil or darkness can consume or destroy evil. It reflects the speaker’s sense of being consumed by darkness or negative forces.

“In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.”

This line evokes a sense of impending doom or destruction, as the speaker climbs towards a bed of fire. It further emphasizes the theme of persecution and violence.

“It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,”

The speaker suggests that it’s easy to attribute their predicament to darkness or external forces, such as the mouth of a door representing an entrance to danger or oppression.

“The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.”

The speaker feels as if their light has been extinguished or suppressed, perhaps by the oppressive forces symbolized by the cellar’s belly.

“A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.”

This line suggests that the speaker feels imprisoned or confined by a mysterious figure with “large eyes,” further emphasizing their sense of captivity.

“What large eyes the dead have!”

The speaker reflects on the eyes of the dead, perhaps suggesting a sense of being watched or scrutinized by unseen forces.

“I am intimate with a hairy spirit.”

The speaker admits to being close or familiar with a mysterious, possibly sinister force, adding to the sense of entanglement with darkness.

“Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.”

This line evokes a sense of emptiness or futility, as smoke wheels from an empty jar, perhaps symbolizing the speaker’s sense of being hollow or devoid of purpose.

“If I am a little one, I can do no harm.”

The speaker suggests that they are harmless or insignificant if they remain small or passive, reflecting their sense of powerlessness.

“If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,”

The speaker acknowledges that staying still and passive can prevent them from causing harm or attracting attention.

“Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.”

This line further emphasizes the speaker’s smallness and insignificance, as they compare themselves to a tiny rice grain under a potlid.

“They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.”

The speaker suggests that the intensity of their persecution is increasing, as represented by the turning up of burners, symbolizing a growing threat.

“We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.”

The speaker reflects on their own growth and development, despite the challenges they face. The “small white fellows” may refer to other oppressed individuals.

“It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.”

The speaker acknowledges the pain of growth and change, suggesting that facing the truth can be painful but necessary for growth.

“Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:”

The speaker addresses a mysterious figure as the “mother of beetles,” perhaps symbolizing a force of nature or a deity. They plead for release from their confinement.

“I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.”

The speaker expresses a desire for transformation and freedom, comparing themselves to a moth flying through a candle’s mouth unharmed.

“Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days”

The speaker pleads to regain their true form and understanding, ready to interpret their experiences and make sense of their life.

“I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.”

The speaker reflects on their past experiences, suggesting a sense of connection with the earth and the passage of time.

“My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.”

This line suggests a glimmer of hope or enlightenment, as brightness ascends the speaker’s body, symbolizing a sense of awakening or clarity.

“I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light.”

The poem ends with a sense of uncertainty and disorientation, as the speaker feels overwhelmed by light and its implications.