Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath poems tend to overlap and collide in terms of story, theme and

technique. As the authors were married for 6 years, it makes sense that they should have
similar experiences and therefore write about their lives in a way that compliments each
other. “Daffodils” by Hughes and “Tulips” by Plath are no different and can be compared
based on the way each author talks about tragic events within their lives.

The most obvious comparison between the two poems is the manner in which both poets
speak of the flowers in a melancholy and threatening way. Whilst flowers can be easily
associated with funerals, both Plath and Hughes write about the flowers as a symbol of death
and the fragility of life. In Hughes’ “daffodils” the flowers that he, Sylvia and their daughter
pick are described as “last blessings” and “fleeting”. Hughes also makes references to
drowning in the last stanza and uses the phrase “sinking deeper” as well as describing the
flowers as “groping for air”. The flowers are used to represent a sort of sad nostalgia in
reference to Plath’s obsession with death and the tragedy that was her eventual suicide. The
theme of suicide continues as the title ties in with the subject. Daffodils comes from the
genus “narcissus”, the name of a man form a Greek myth who was in love with his own
appearance, which lead to him committing suicide.
Plath refers to the flowers in a similarly painful way, saying that the flowers “steal my
oxygen”. Sylvia Plath also references drowning, writing that the flowers are comparable to
“red lead sinkers round my neck.” The continuous theme of drowning in both poems is an
obvious connection to Plath’s near-death experience when she nearly drowned as a ten-year-
old, which seemed to be the root of Plath’s fascination with death. Plath wrote tulips around
the time that she suffered a tragic miscarriage and was in a hospital due to needing an
appendectomy. Under the circumstances it makes sense for Plath to continuously reference
death and loss within this poem.

Another comparison that can be made between the two poems is the use of free verse. In
Hughes’ poem he uses free verse as a way to make the poem more conversational, as though
he is talking to Sylvia Plath. This gives the reader the sense of listening in on someone’s
personal conversation, especially when paired with the honesty and openness in the poem.
The free verse within ‘Daffodils” also makes the poem read like a dramatic monologue which
is aided by the use of beginning with a rhetorical question and the lack of a fixed meter.
Plath’s poem “Tulips” however, is different to Hughes in terms of the free verse as it
only has the appearance of free verse but upon closer reflection, it becomes obvious that the
poem relies heavily on poetic methods such as assonance “excitable, white, quiet” and
internal rhyme “red lead”. The structure of the poem is also well thought through. Making
use of the nine seven-line stanzas, or septets. Plath’s poem is written in a slightly more
internal voice than Hughes but as a result of the use of free verse, the poem still has a very
open and honest air to the writing.

Plath and Hughes also use different methods of symbolism within their writing. The daffodils
in Hughes’s poem seem to vaguely represent parenthood while taking on the overwhelming
theme of the frailty of life. Hughes’ imagery within the poem is also very abstract and tends
to take some interpretation to fully be understood “fresh opened dragonflies” for example
may represent both the petals of the daffodils and the fact that Sylvia’s life span was short,
similarly to a dragonfly. This is aided by the following line “opened too early”.
Plath however uses a lot more color imagery “white” and “red” and her poems are very
visual. The visual nature of her poems is an abrupt contrast to Hughes’ abstract imagery.
Plath speaks very directly in her poem and says exactly what she sees. This can be seen in the
first stanza when she talks about the nurses and compares their white hats to seagulls.
The difference in the way the poets use imagery and symbolism in their poems gives the
reader insight on their views about talking openly about tragic experiences. While Hughes
does address all his feelings, he does so in a way that makes it seem forced and not
completely voluntarily. Plath on the other hand writes as though she needs to communicate
her feelings in a way that the reader will understand.

Plath and Hughes also tend to write about their views on parenthood in different ways.
Hughes writes the poem in a way that embodies that tragedy of Plath’s death through their
daughter, saying “She cannot even remember you”. As well as making a reference to Plath’s
miscarriage, “Baby cries from the thaw”, an event that Sylvia Plath also addresses in ‘Tulips’.
Furthermore, Hughes uses the idea of children and their innocence to contrast the main topic
within the poem “Your daughter came with armfuls, eager and happy”. Using Freida’s
vivacity and innocence to put a lighter air to the poem.
Plath on the other hand uses the tulips as a symbol for her children. A topic very relevant
to her recent miscarriage. She says the tulips are “too excitable”, similarly to Hughes, using
the naivety of children to contrast the tragedy of the situation that she is in. She then proceeds
to talk about a family photo and how her child’s smile “catch onto my skin, little smiling
hooks”, a motif that is mentioned across Plath’s work such as “blackberrying” and “Ariel”.
This gives the poem an air of entrapment, aided by lines such as how the tulips bloom out of
“sheer love” for Plath, adding the pressures of being a parent. Plath even begins to reject the
idea of being a parent “I didn’t want any flowers”. Plath also wrote a letter to her mother
before her suicide talking about the “cow-like happiness of maternity”. Showing the stark
contrast between hers and Hughes’ views on parenthood.

The tone of the two poems is very similar. Hughes “Daffodils” shows a lot of remorse and
regret on his part but has a more nostalgic air to it than “Tulips”. He makes references to the
April when Plath died multiple times throughout the poem, “your last April”, “April by
April”, and we know that this was published thirty years after Plath’s death about the topic,
which he refused to address throughout most of his career.
Plath on the other hand writes “Tulips” in an air of regret as well, using a similarly bitter-
sweet tone in her work to Hughes. In one line she mentions that she is “learning
peacefulness’ and then a few lines down writes that she has “nothing to do with explosions”.
This seems to represent Plath trying to forget the reason she is in the hospital in the first place
and attempting to stop thinking so hard about recent events in her life. The reader sees this
again in the line “stupid pupil, it has to take everything in. Plath’s tone is also aided by her
pentameter as she moves in and out of rhythm, mimicking the feeling of being under
anesthetic or on medication. This is a stark contrast to Hughes’ abrupt forced tone used
within “daffodils”

Within the two poems it can be seen that each author writes about tragic experiences in quite
similar ways and with similar themes. The poets both use their emotional memories to fuel
their writing in each poem and use their own unique writing styles to create imagery and
symbolism that allows the reader a glance into their minds. In conclusion, while Plath and
Hughes both seem to have very different writing styles, the way they write about tragic
moments within their lives are very similar and very complimentary.