CONTEXT:

It is titled “Paralytic,” and it was written in 1963, the same year when she committed suicide. The
poem seems to reflect her real-life struggles, as she had mental health problems and received shock
therapy (Feirstein, 2016). The feeling of being paralyzed could be an aftermath of such treatment.
The period when the poem was written, the 1960s, appears to have been fruitful for the
counterculture movement, and mental illnesses were glamorized (Mettler, 2015). Perhaps, Plath was
both a victim and an icon of those tumultuous times, along with other young famous people who
died prematurely.

“Paralytic” presents the thoughts of a person who may be unable to speak, and it is a valuable
perspective. The poem teaches compassion, which is vital for a nurse and any person regardless of
their profession. It also shows a palette of various feelings one experiences while being paralyzed. I
can detect confusion, anger, and other emotions that will only become more intense if the necessary
steps are not followed.

SUMMARY
This poem is a vivid description of Plath feeling paralyzed against the passage of time. The opening
sentence; “It happens.” The brevity of the sentence, the period following the two words bears a
sense of finality, while the sentence itself gives a feeling of being bored of the repetitiveness of life.
Life is simply happening. There is nothing exciting. Time is going on around her, the world is moving
—but she is not. Her mind is still and lifeless and as incapable of worldly thought as a rock. The
desperation of not wanting life to go on in the first line carries a sense of loneliness. This is further
explored in the fact that she has “no fingers to grip, no tongue.” There being no tongue could mean
either that there is no one to talk to or that she herself doesn’t have a tongue; this is, she herself
does not want to make conversation with anybody. She resents her lungs, her ‘dust bags’ for
pumping oxygen for her and making her live. “The day outside glides by like ticker tape—” not only
does this sentence allude to the aforementioned feeling of being paralyzed and helpless in the face
of time, the use of the word “outside” suggest Plath’s depression has severed her ties with this
world, with its day and nights, and she now is moving closer to her imminent suicide. Her loneliness
has turned the lights into people, into ‘talkers.’ The image of the breasts reminds of babies, and it is
noteworthy that at this point in time and at the time of her suicide Plath was living alone with her
babies, whom though she loved, could not keep her company and could not understand or converse
with her. Calling herself a “dead egg” is perhaps the most complete description of her state right now
—like an egg, containing and capable of life, but at the same time dead, and lifeless. In the third last
stanza, the cellophane that separates her from the “day outside” is not an uncommon metaphor for
depression. “Wants, desires, falling from me…” Plath’s obsession with death may have very well
resulted in a loss of love for life, and all the wants and desires and ambitions and goals that come
with it. She is ready to die, and like the claw of the magnolia, she “asks nothing of life.”

Lines 1-2: "It happens. Will it go on? ----

My mind a rock,"

The poem opens with a terse acknowledgment of an ongoing condition, possibly reflecting the
speaker's resignation to their state. Describing the mind as "a rock" suggests immobility and
numbness, indicating a mental paralysis.
Lines 3-4: "No fingers to grip, no tongue,
My god the iron lung"

The absence of fingers and tongue symbolizes a loss of agency and communication. The "iron lung"
serves as a life-sustaining machine, personified as a deity, emphasizing dependence and entrapment.

Lines 5-8: "That loves me, pumps

My two
Dust bags in and out,
Will not"

The iron lung's mechanical function is described with a semblance of affection, yet it reduces the
lungs to "dust bags," highlighting the dehumanizing aspect of the speaker's existence.

Lines 9-10: "Let me relapse

While the day outside glides by like ticker tape."

The machine prevents the speaker from relapsing, forcing them to continue enduring their condition.
The imagery of the day passing like "ticker tape" conveys a sense of life moving monotonously and
mechanically.

Lines 11-12: "The night brings violets,

Tapestries of eyes,"

Nighttime introduces a contrast with "violets" symbolizing delicate beauty, while "tapestries of eyes"
may represent watchfulness or a haunting presence, suggesting a complex interplay of comfort and
surveillance.

Lines 13-14: "Lights,

The soft anonymous"

The mention of "lights" could refer to hospital indicators or distant, unreachable sources of
illumination, contributing to the theme of isolation.

Lines 15-16: "Talkers: 'You all right?'

The starched, inaccessible breast."

Anonymous voices inquire about the speaker's well-being, yet the "starched, inaccessible breast"
suggests a cold, impersonal interaction, possibly with medical staff, highlighting a lack of genuine
human connection.

Lines 17-18: "Dead egg, I lie

Whole"

Referring to oneself as a "dead egg" conveys a sense of potential unfulfilled and lifelessness, while
"whole" paradoxically indicates an intact exterior despite inner desolation.

Lines 19-20: "On a whole world I cannot touch,

At the white, tight"

The speaker feels disconnected from the world, unable to engage with it physically or emotionally.
The descriptors "white" and "tight" may evoke a sterile, confining environment, such as a hospital
bed.
Lines 21-22: "Drum of my sleeping couch
Photographs visit me-"

The "drum" suggests a rhythmic, perhaps monotonous, aspect of the speaker's resting place.
"Photographs visit me" indicates that memories or images of the past intrude upon the speaker's
present consciousness.

Lines 23-24: "My wife, dead and flat, in 1920 furs,

Mouth full of pearls,"

The speaker recalls an image of their wife, depicted as lifeless and two-dimensional, adorned in
outdated luxury, which may signify a disconnect from past relationships and pleasures.

Lines 25-26: "Two girls

As flat as she, who whisper 'We're your daughters.'"

Similarly, the daughters appear as flat images, emphasizing the speaker's sense of detachment from
family and the inability to engage with them meaningfully.

Lines 27-30: "The still waters

Wrap my lips,
Eyes, nose and ears,
A clear"

The sensation of "still waters" enveloping the senses suggests suffocation or drowning, reinforcing
feelings of entrapment and sensory deprivation.

Lines 31-32: "Cellophane I cannot crack.

On my bare back"

The "cellophane" represents a transparent barrier separating the speaker from the world, which they
are unable to penetrate, intensifying the sense of isolation.

Lines 33-34: "I smile, a buddha, all

Wants, desire"

Adopting a Buddha-like demeanor, the speaker implies a state of detached serenity, yet this may also
suggest resignation and the suppression of desires.

Lines 35-36: "Falling from me like rings

Hugging their lights."

Desires dissipate, compared to rings losing their brilliance, symbolizing the extinguishing of the
speaker's passions and aspirations.

Lines 37-38: "The claw

Of the magnolia,"

The "claw" of the magnolia introduces a natural element, perhaps representing a grasping for life or
beauty amidst the speaker's desolation.

Lines 39-40: "Drunk on its own scents,

Asks nothing of life."
The magnolia, intoxicated by its fragrance, exists contentedly without demands, contrasting with the
speaker's turmoil and hinting at a longing for such simplicity and self-sufficiency.