1. Winter Trees Presentation
By Caitlin Owens

2. Synopsis of the Poem
In the poem “Winter Trees”, Sylvia Plath explores the treatment of women in society, and questions the roles of duty and motherhood that women at the time were placed into.
Throughout the poem, trees are used as a symbol of both the mistreatment of women and of the speaker’s longing to break free from convention and ordinary life.
The poem was written shortly after Plath’s split from Ted Hughes, and although some of the themes explored throughout the poem could link in to this, it is important to consider the themes in a wider context.

3. Summary of Stanzas
Stanza One: Nature is a force for good, taking darkness away. However, crucially, daytime has not quite arrived yet. Due to her detached tone, the speaker does not participate in taking the darkness away, and therefore daytime does not come. The world where there is light and hope is not a world she can be part of.
Stanza Two: In this stanza, Plath explores the idea of marriage and motherhood. The speaker envies the easy way that nature can procreate, and questions her usefulness as “the woman”.
Stanza Three: Contrasts heavily with stanza two. Here, Plath fully questions why women have been confined to roles of duty and motherhood. She also deals with the idea of pain, and its inability to be fully erased.

4. Central Themes
Treatment of women in society- Plath questions the oppression of women by society.
Marriage and motherhood- Plath rebels against these roles, yet also feels like a failure in regards to them.
Isolation- Plath struggles to feel at home in a country with such ancient history.
The sublime- Plath, once again, envies nature and feels lesser than it.
Pain/Futility- Plath struggles with grief and tries to overcome it, but a constant sense of futility is present throughout the poem.

5. Treatment of Women in Society
“In this, they are Ledas.”
The myth of Leda is a Greek myth, wherein Zeus takes the form of a swan and rapes Leda while she is walking alone on a beach. On the same night, Leda has relations with her husband and thus bares the children of both Zeus and her husband. By comparing the trees (they) to Leda, Plath links them to the wider theme of the way women are treated within society. She is referencing the use of women for man’s own purposes, and the pain and isolation women can experience because of this. Likewise, nature is also violated by mankind for its own purposes, and this therefore creates a link between the trees and women.

6. Treatment of Women in Society
“Who are these pietas?”
“Pietas” are a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus. Therefore, this question is again attacking the placement of women into the confined roles that society dictates to them. All throughout time women have been depicted as the “nurturing mothers”, and the speaker is questioning this. However, the question remains unanswered at the end of the poem, providing no comfort for her or for women in general.

7. Marriage and Motherhood
“A series of weddings.”
The word choice of “series” makes the process of marriage seem sequential, de-valuing the idea of married life. The speaker sees marriage as something which is an everyday occurrence, and ultimately something which will not last.
This slightly bitter outlook on marriage links in to Plath’s overall attack on the treatment of women.

8. Marriage and Motherhood
“Knowing neither abortions nor bitchery,”
This is very confessional, as it is well known that Plath was cheated on, and it is rumoured that she also had an abortion early on in her marriage to Ted Hughes.
However, this could also be seen as Plath’s way of countering the idea of marriage and motherhood. As an “abortion” can be seen as the opposite of becoming a mother, and “bitchery” can be seen as the opposite of being a faithful and dutiful wife, it could be said that Plath is conveying the fact that women are not merely the two-dimensional people that society believes they should be. Just like men, they can be unfaithful and “human”.

9. Marriage and Motherhood
“They seed so effortlessly!”
In this, Plath may be showing a slight envy towards the trees, because of the easy way they can procreate. Women, on the other hand, are forced to go through months of exhaustion only to be categorised as “the mother” for the rest of their lives. Conveys unfair nature of the treatment of women.
However, this may also tie in with the fact that Plath had a miscarriage and possibly an abortion, as well as two living children. In this, she may have no longer felt useful in the way that society wanted her to be (ie. As a person who procreates). In other words, she didn’t feel like “the woman”.

10. Isolation “the trees seem a botanical drawing”
The word choice of “seem” implies a sense of falseness, and implies that the trees are untrustworthy. This could be interpreted as Plath feeling as though the trees hiding their true nature from her, making her feel isolated and alone.
Just as a “drawing” is a work of art that one can admire, but never be a part of, so too are the trees separated permanently from the speaker. She can admire them, but she can never be one of them. This contributes to the sense of isolation that Plath conveys throughout the poem.

11. Isolation “Waist-deep in history.”
This emphasises the fact that the trees are old, and that Plath envies their past and history. This is a direct link to the isolation theme, as Plath, was an American who moved to England, a very old country. As a former citizen of a reasonably new country, Plath feels like she doesn’t belong amongst all of the ancient history the trees have to offer. Therefore she is alienated from the trees, and cannot connect with the history they display.

12. The Sublime “Tasting the winds, that are footless,”
The speaker envies the sense of freedom that the trees have, and their lack of need to “conform”. The word choice of “footless” also conveys the fact that the trees never have to travel to get what they want, and that everything comes to them.
This therefore gives the speaker a sense of inferiority in regards to the trees, as she does not have the same freedom in her own life.

13. The Sublime “Full of wings, otherworldliness.”
The word choice of “wings” implies that the trees have a kind of magic and mysticism associated with them.
This is emphasised by the word choice of “otherworldliness”, which also implies that the speaker is not on the same level as them, neither in beauty nor freedom. This therefore implies that the speaker feels lesser than them, tying in to the theme of the sublime.

14. Pain/Futility “The wet dawn inks are doing their blue dissolve.”
This use of pathetic fallacy implies that the weather is attempting to take away the darkness. The “blue dissolve” signifies that night is in the process of becoming day, but the word choice of “blue” suggests that it is not finished yet. This could convey a certain sadness, as the darkness is still present, despite being lessened. It seems as though the speaker is waiting for a feeling of grief to be taken away, but because of the detached nature of the stanza, which mirrors her detachment from her surroundings, this never happens. This therefore ties in to both the theme of pain and the theme of futility, as the speaker’s grief remains uncured.

15. Pain/Futility
“The shadows of ringdoves chanting, but chasing nothing.”
The word choice of “shadows” implies that the darkness from the beginning of the poem is still lurking, and seems quite threatening.
She can see “ringdoves”, which could be described as beautiful, yet they are still “nothing” in her eyes. The nature surrounding her doesn’t give her any comfort, nor does it change the pain that she feels.
The poem ends on the word “nothing”, and this is crucial in emphasising the final message of the poem. It implies that despite the anger that the speaker feels at both the treatment of women and her own grief, nothing will ever really change. There is no way to erase pain sometimes. This ties in to the theme of futility effectively, as the poem both started and ended with this sense of darkness.

16. Summary
A sense of darkness is present at both the beginning and end of the poem, symbolising that there is not a way to erase pain.
Throughout the poem, Plath feels a sense of failure in her role as the woman society expects her to be, but also directs this into a statement about the mistreatment and false expectations of women in society at the time.
However, at the end of the poem her questions are left unanswered, providing no comfort for Plath or the reader.