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Analysis and comments on The Applicant by Sylvia Plath

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Comment 4 of 24, added on December 3rd, 2005 at 10:40 AM.

I believe that this wonderful poem is wrongly held up by militant feminists
as a purely feminist poem. Sylvia Plath may have been manic depressive, but
she was certainly extremely intelligent as rapidly becomes clear when you
read her biography. An extremely intelligent person should be circumspect
enough to realise that it is not only men who are at fault here, and I
think she displays this very well in stanza five. Here she describes (and
condemns) the roles and stereotypes that men are expected to conform to.
The suit: stiff, black, proof against everything; "they'll bury you in
it.". In other words, they have to be rigid, stoic, invincible, and must
keep up this guise even unto the day they die. Despite what many feminists
seem to think, men are not necessarily like this, for they too, like women,
have expectations imposed upon them which they are forced to live up to,
regardless of whether it complies with their nature or not. Sylvia Plath
has shown that she is wise enough to know that there is something wrong
with society, not men.

Dani B from United Kingdom
Comment 3 of 24, added on September 3rd, 2005 at 11:01 AM.

This poem represents men marrying the stereotype of the "right person" eg.
Are you our sort of person? . The Poem is a mockery of the checklist needed
to be followed in order to live a stereotipical "happy marriage".eg. Do you
wear a glass eye, false teeth or a crutch.It can sew, it can cook, it can
talk talk talk. and of course the repetition of the words "will you marry
it?. The poem also states that "it is gauranteed" that most will fall into
this trap of blending in. "My boy its your last resort" I enjoyed the poem
and think it is very sarcastic and humorous.

Elinor from South Africa
Comment 2 of 24, added on March 18th, 2005 at 6:13 PM.

I believe that Sylvia Plath's Poem the Applicant is about the gender
classification of women "to bring teacups and roll away headaches" And how
men expect their women(make them their own property) to be like robots to
be there to please them.

Stephanie
Comment 1 of 24, added on December 7th, 2004 at 9:58 AM.

How often do you feel like you are, not the applicant, but the good?
Regardless of your position- all too often women are the good. But smile
with that knowledge, because with it comes rejection.

Erin Lee from United States

This poem has been commented on more than 10 times. Click below to see the other comments.
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Information about The Applicant

Poet: Sylvia Plath
Poem: The Applicant
Volume: The Collected Poems
Year: 1962
Added: Feb 20 2003
Viewed: 11688 times


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