Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Snakecharmer," Sylvia Plath delves into the hypnotic and complex relationship between creation and destruction, artist and art, through the metaphor of a snakecharmer. By blending mythology, psychology, and vivid imagery, Plath composes a multi-layered narrative that provides commentary on the existential struggle for mastery over one's environment and inner chaos.

The poem begins with a grand statement: "As the gods began one world, and man another, / So the snakecharmer begins a snaky sphere." Here, Plath elevates the snakecharmer to the status of a deity, who, like gods and men, shapes the world according to his will. He uses his "moon-eye, mouth-pipe" to initiate a world that is uniquely his, a realm defined by the attributes of the snake-sinuous, enigmatic, and potentially deadly. The words "moon-eye" and "mouth-pipe" evince an otherworldly, mystical quality, which further emphasizes the snake charmer's divine nature.

As the snake charmer plays his pipe, he conjures "green waters" that "waver / With reedy lengths and necks and undulatings." His music is so powerful that it physically molds the environment around him. His sons are shaped by these "green waters," emphasizing how art or creation molds the artist as much as the artist molds it. The landscape he creates lacks the stability of "rocks" or "floor," being supported only by "a wave of flickering grass tongues." This groundlessness reflects the uncertainty and risk inherent in the creative act-the artist may conjure a realm, but it isn't always a place of comfort or stability.

The snakecharmer "pipes a world of snakes, / Of sways and coilings, from the snake-rooted bottom / Of his mind." The snakes he creates are an extension of his psyche, revealing the deeper layers of his unconscious mind. In this "snakedom," the boundaries blur between "snake-scales," "leaf," "eyelid," "bough," and "breast / Of tree and human." Here, Plath questions the dichotomy between man and nature, suggesting a unity or oneness that is both intriguing and unsettling.

Toward the end, the poem takes on a cyclical form: "And snakes there were, are, will be--till yawns / Consume this pipe and he tires of music." Just as creation is inescapable, so is destruction or change. When the snake charmer "tires of music," he returns the world to its original state of "snake-warp, snake-weft," effectively "melting" his creations back into the fundamental fabric from which they were conjured. Finally, he "Puts up his pipe, and lids his moony eye," signifying the end of his divine performance.

In "Snakecharmer," Sylvia Plath does more than just describe a scene or tell a story. She compels us to ponder the nature of artistry, the psychology of the artist, and the thin line between creation and annihilation. Through the guise of the snakecharmer, she explores the complex weave of life and death, beauty and danger, and the eternal dance between chaos and control.

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