Sylvia Plath’s poetry can be hard to understand- but what if we provide an all-encompassing guide to achieve a Band 6 analysis on ‘Nick and the Candlestick’?
We’ve got your back! Here is all the key information you need to know about “Nick and the Candlestick”, including its key themes, its major contextual influences along with a 3-step process to nail an in-depth analysis for your HSC English essay!
There’s also a FREE TEE table and sample Band 6 paragraph for you to download!
There’s no time to lose, let’s jump into it!
Summary of ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ by Sylvia Plath
Context
Themes Explored in ‘Nick and the Candlestick’
Studying ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ for Module A: Textual Conversations
Analysis of ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ by Sylvia Plath
Summary of ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ by Sylvia Plath
Written in free verse, Sylvia Plath’s ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ explores Plath’s ambivalence with her newfound motherhood following the birth of her child, Nicholas in 1962.
The title itself is a reference to the nursery rhyme “Jack be Nimble” but with Nick’s name.
In the first half of the poem, Plath acknowledges the pain and suffering she endures as a mother. She soon comes to adore her child as a beacon of hope who fulfills her life’s purpose in the latter half.
The poem takes on the perspective of a new mother, who likens her experience to a miner navigating through a dark and ghastly cave. As the narrator follows a blue, dying light, she uses her deathly environment to express the sorrows of motherhood. The cave’s mineral deposits remind her of Mother Nature’s tears from her barren womb.
A sinister energy clings onto her like a plum’s flesh to its pit. Carnivorous fish suck the life out of her like piranhas thirsty for the body and blood of Christ.
You get the idea, it’s not the best place to be.
However, the poem’s tone shifts to a more hopeful one as the candle’s flame inhales more oxygen and turns bright yellow.
The narrator assures her son that the cruel world would not harm him and he will not be a burden to the world. She decorates the cave with roses and rugs to make the setting more inhabitable for her child.
The world collapses to meet its inevitable end, yet the narrator remains fixated on her son, celebrating him for his innocence and purity. The child attracts all forces of the universe to revolve around him, signifying his pivotal role in the narrator’s life like a precious gemstone to a miner.
Ultimately, the narrator comes to see her child as a biblical Son of God, her own personal saviour who fulfils her existential purpose.
Context
‘Nick and the Candlestick’ was composed in October 1962 shortly after the birth of Plath’s child, Nicholas.
However, it was published in 1965 as part of Plath’s posthumous collection of poems in Ariel.
Here are some key contextual events that shaped the poem’s ideas!
Confessional poetry
Sylvia Plath was renowned for her contribution to confessional poetry, which was a literary style that derived from the 1950s postmodernist movement.
Confessional poetry, otherwise known as confessionalism, was commonly referred to as “poetry of the ‘I’”. This branch of poetry features deeply personal themes that were considered taboo by society to delve into the psychological machinations of the poet.
Examples of confessional themes could include mental health illness, trauma, guilt and drug use.
Previous poets have concealed these themes with romantic, figurative language. However, confessional poets challenge this by openly exploring their inner, psychological afflictions.
Divorce with Ted Hughes
Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes married in 1956, yet their infamous relationship was scrutinised by the public as Plath allegedly suffered from domestic abuse perpetrated by Hughes.
When Plath was composing “Nick and the Candlestick ”, Hughes had just left Plath to take care of their two young children all by herself.
This could have caused her anxiety and fears about being a single mother, leading to themes found in “Nick and the Candlestick”. Sadly, Plath took her life not long after at the age of 30.
Gender Roles in Post-WWII America
Following the end of World War II, the concept of a nuclear family was idealised and promoted by the media to rebuild population numbers.
Thus, the baby boomer generation was born and this lasted into the 1960s, the era of Plath’s creative career.
During this time, society believed that women’s sole purpose was to bear children and be the caretaker at home. Women were expected to find joy in their domestic duties, instead of pursuing their own passions.
Plath was one of the women who were torn between her identity as an individual and a mother. She acknowledges the hardships of motherhood that led to her exhausted and dried up body, yet cherishes the beauty of bringing up a child.
Themes Explored in Nick and the Candlestick
The Hardship of Motherhood
“Nick and the Candlestick” provides an authentic presentation of motherhood by revealing the physical sacrifices a mother must make for their children.
As the candle’s flame fades to “light blue”, Plath captures the loss of a mother’s vitality which she fears may burn out.
The narrator is wrapped in “raggy shawls” that are useless against the cold to represent how the mother’s ability to take care of herself decays as she dedicates herself to her child.
Through the metaphor of “piranha(s)” that “drink” out of her “live toes”, Plath highlights how motherhood exhausts her and drains her body’s resources until there is nothing left.
Plath casts herself as a “cave” to picture her own body as a vessel for her child, which has become “cold and white” like a corpse as it transforms from a place of life to one of emptiness.
Fulfillment in Motherhood
Despite the challenges that come with motherhood, Plath also celebrates her child as one of her greatest joys in life who has the potential to fulfill her existential purpose.
When the narrator turns to her son, the candle light that was once dying, now shines brighter than ever before.
This demonstrates how her child acts as a guiding light that facilitates her progress into a new phase of her life as a mother.
The narrator equates her child to a “ruby”, a precious gemstone that motivates her to continue her venture into the dark cave of motherhood.
By commending her “embryo” who remains in a “crossed position”, Plath highlights how her child transforms her body from an empty corpse to a home for new life, rewarding the narrator with a new purpose and fulfillment.
By describing her child like a “baby in the barn”, Plath sees her son as a Christ-like figure who will bring her salvation and ease in the midst of a tumultuous, chaotic world.
Studying this Text for Module A: Textual Conversations
Excerpt of Module A Criteria sourced from NESA
Link #1: Personal, social, cultural and historical context influences author’s perspectives and shape meaning
Plath’s personal experiences and socio-cultural context are key factors that have shaped her viewpoint and understanding of the nature of motherhood in “Nick and the Candlestick”.
After her separation with Ted Hughes, Plath finds herself in a new position as a single mother, where she is struck with fear and anxiety about taking care of two children all alone.
This can be observed in the first half of the poem, where Plath struggles to navigate through the dark and desolate cave of motherhood.
Important socio-cultural events such as the rise of confessional poetry allowed her to share a realistic perspective on motherhood that captures both the suffering and fulfilment that her child brings.
Similarly, the rise of feminism following Plath’s death in 1963 accentuated the value of Plath’s work as they resonated with her desire to be free from gender roles and oppression from a patriarchal structure.
Link #2: How language concepts, form and style can shape new meaning
The Module A rubric encourages you to analyse key language features such as motif, allusion and intertextuality to create meaning.
Lucky for you, Plath’s “Nick and the Candlestick” are loaded with these language techniques!
Plath uses the motif of a cave, the biblical allusion to the Son of Man and an intertextual reference to a nursery rhyme in the title.
Altogether, these language features allow Plath to move beyond romanticising the experience of motherhood like previous composers. Instead, she presents a unique perspective that explores both the ups and downs of motherhood and ultimately, adds new meaning to what it’s like to be a mother.
How to Analyse ‘Nick and the Candlestick’ by Sylvia Plath in 3 Steps
An in-depth analysis of the text is always the best approach to writing an amazing essay!
This will allow you to fully understand the texts and its themes, language features and meaning so you can write an impressive thesis statement and plan an amazing essay.
To learn how to write analysis for Plath’s “Nick and the Candlestick” poem that will wow your examiner, follow our easy 3-step guide:
Step 1: Choose your example
To secure a Band 6 level analysis, you will need to identify an example that would support your argument!
It’s always best to choose an example with a technique, as it allows you to show off your comprehensive understanding of the text and its literary techniques.
To give an example, we have chosen this quote from the 6th and 7th stanza of “Nick and the Candlestick”:
“A piranha
Religion, drinking
Its first communion out of my live toes.”
Step 2: Identify your technique(s)
Next, we need to identify the techniques within the quote.
Try to avoid surface-level techniques that limit your analysis, such as alliteration or onomatopoeia. These can be difficult for you to delve deeper into its effect, so go for techniques that provide a double meaning such as metaphors, recurring motifs, allusions, symbolism and similes.
Another tip is to find an example with multiple techniques so you can build a solid analysis!
For the quote above, we have found the techniques: metaphor, symbolic, imagery and biblical allusion
Step 3: Write the analysis
The most important step when it comes to writing your analysis, is to explain what the effect of the technique is. We want to avoid technique labeling, which can read like this:
Plath uses metaphor, imagery and biblical allusion in “a piranha…drinking its communion out of my lives toes” to show how motherhood comes with hardship and suffering.
Instead, we should explain how each of these techniques and its effect support your argument. This will demonstrate a more holistic analysis of the texts and how its language features create meaning. Here’s an example:
Plath’s compelling imagery of a “piranha” that metaphorically “drink(s)” the mother’s “live toes” reveals how motherhood can drain your bodily resources with a biblical reference to “religion” and “communion” to cast herself as a symbolic sacrificial lamb to save her child.
Need some help analysing other texts?
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Kate Lynn Law graduated in 2017 with an all rounders HSC award and an ATAR of 97.65. Passionate about mentoring, she enjoys working with high school students to improve their academic, work and life skills in preparation for the HSC and what comes next. An avid blogger, Kate had administered a creative writing page for over 2000 people since 2013, writing to an international audience since her early teenage years.
