Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Elm; For Ruth Fainlight" by Sylvia Plath is a psychologically intense exploration of existential fears, love, and personal identity. The poem begins with a stark claim, "I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root; / It is what you fear. / I do not fear it: I have been there." This immediate plunge into the emotional and metaphorical depths establishes the dark, complex terrain the reader is about to navigate.

The speaker identifies deeply with the elm tree, its "great tap root" being a metaphor for the understanding or experience of deep, often horrifying, truths about existence. The elm, with its subterranean root system, represents not just nature but the unconscious mind, the repressed fears, and the "soft, feathery turnings" of something "malignant" within the self.

One of the most poignant questions in the poem concerns the origins of the unsettling sounds or voices the speaker hears within herself. "Is it the sea you hear in me, / Its dissatisfactions? / Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness?" Here, the poem delves into the uncanny connection between the natural world and the psychological landscape, both full of "dissatisfactions" and an elusive "madness."

The poem also examines the nature of love, describing it as a "shadow" and alluding to its fleeting, elusive nature: "Love is a shadow. / How you lie and cry after it. / Listen: these are its hooves: it has gone off, like a horse." This notion of love as transient and often agonizing is reinforced by lines like "Or shall I bring you the sound of poisons? / This is rain now, the big hush. / And this is the fruit of it: tin white, like arsenic."

In discussing the "atrocity of sunsets" and "the moon, also, is merciless," the poem captures the ruthlessness of nature and its elements, which bear parallels with the emotional torments of the speaker. The vivid descriptions like "My red filaments burn and stand, a hand of wires" evoke a sense of urgency and agony, intensifying the overall mood of existential dread.

The speaker expresses a profound terror at the "dark thing / That sleeps in me," an entity that evokes fear throughout the day and actively seeks "something to love" during the night. This mysterious entity embodies not only existential fear but also the complex emotions, perhaps depression or anxiety, that plague the speaker.

Towards the end, the tone shifts towards acceptance, albeit a terrifying one: "I am incapable of more knowledge. / What is this, this face / So murderous in its strangle of branches?" The elm, and by extension the speaker, accepts its inherent limitations in understanding the world, as well as the inherent dangers-"the isolate, slow faults / That kill, that kill, that kill."

Written in free verse, the poem's structure allows for a free flow of emotional and intellectual currents. The lack of a rigid rhyme scheme mirrors the chaos and unpredictability of the speaker's internal world. Additionally, Plath's use of language-phrases like "soft, feathery turnings," "murderous in its strangle of branches," or "snaky acids kiss"-is rich in sensory and emotional impact, making the poem a powerful journey through psychological complexities.

"Elm; For Ruth Fainlight" is an intense poetic experience that probes the depths of existential dread, emotional suffering, and the enigmatic nature of love and identity. Sylvia Plath masterfully employs vivid imagery, natural symbolism, and emotional candor to deliver a poem that is both haunting and cathartic.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...