Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Sylvia Plath's poem "Nick and the Candlestick" is a vivid, intricate tapestry of images, themes, and emotions that showcases the poet's masterful use of language and symbolism. Plath begins with the line, "I am a miner. The light burns blue," plunging us into a subterranean world that serves as both a literal and metaphorical space. This poem is marked by its layers of meaning, which include themes of motherhood, isolation, existential dread, and an aching search for love and clarity.

The light that "burns blue" illuminates the "waxy stalactites" and the "earthen womb," signifying both a miner's lamp and the flicker of understanding in the darkness of confusion and despair. The term "earthen womb" introduces the recurring theme of motherhood and the physical and emotional environment it can create. The poet uses visceral language to describe her surroundings as "black bat airs" and "cold homicides," setting a scene that is stifling, yet strangely nurturing, much like a cave - a place of safety but also of confinement.

The poem also delves into existential themes. The lines "Even the newts are white, / Those holy Joes" seem to suggest a lack of individualism, even in the natural world. Everything is subsumed into a homogenous environment where identities are dissolved. The fish, described as "panes of ice, / A vice of knives," reflect a frozen, potentially hostile universe, indifferent to individual suffering or aspiration.

But within this stark atmosphere, the poem opens up into a moment of epiphany and shifts to a softer tone with the lines "O love, how did you get here? / O embryo." The presence of an embryo implies new life, a fresh beginning, and a glimmer of hope. In a cave of cold "calcium icicles," love emerges as the vital force that resists the decay and monotony of life. The phrase "Your crossed position" indicates the unborn child's state but also subtly nods to the crucifix, reinforcing the idea that the love between a mother and her unborn child is a redemptive force.

The conclusion of the poem turns deeply introspective and personal, as the speaker has "hung our cave with roses. / With soft rugs- / The last of Victoriana." Here, the cave transforms into a home, a sanctuary adorned with remnants of a past era. "Victoriana" suggests an effort to bring culture and refinement into an otherwise barren emotional landscape.

Finally, the poem closes with the lines, "You are the one / Solid the spaces lean on, envious. / You are the baby in the barn." This can be seen as a homage to the Christ child, another life born in an unassuming, confined space, who holds the promise of redemption. It also refers back to the unborn child as the future, the solid entity that fills the vacuous spaces of existence with meaning and hope.

Through its intricate interplay of dark imagery and flashes of hope, "Nick and the Candlestick" wrestles with the complexities of life, love, and the human condition. It is a poem that doesn't offer easy answers but illuminates the questions with a light that "burns blue," a light of scrutiny, of profound emotional and intellectual depth."

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...