Balloons
Beth Kemp | Friday January 28, 2011
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA4, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Plath, Ariel
This poem is not included as a taught poem in the scheme of work, nor is it mentioned on the student handout. It could be recommended to more able/interested students for the theme of childhood.
The speaker describes balloons and how a small boy bites and bursts one.
References: This was one of the last poems Plath wrote, one week before her death. She wrote ‘Edge’ on the same day. Some see it as a farewell to her children, but it’s not clear that she knew when she would die. It seems she often thought of suicide and didn’t plan ahead particularly far.
Links to Duffy/Larkin: childhood (Duffy)
Lang-Lit Points: personification; address to (presumably) Frieda
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