'The Times Are Tidy' by Sylvia Plath

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1958Unlucky the hero born
In this province of the stuck record
Where the most watchful cooks go jobless
And the mayor's rôtisserie turns
Round of its own accord.There's no career in the venture
Of riding against the lizard,
Himself withered these latter-days
To leaf-size from lack of action:
History's beaten the hazard.The last crone got burnt up
More than eight decades back
With the love-hot herb, the talking cat,
But the children are better for it,
The cow milks cream an inch thick.

Editor 1 Interpretation

The Times Are Tidy: A Literary Criticism and Interpretation

Sylvia Plath’s poem, The Times Are Tidy, is a masterpiece of modern literature. Written during the turbulent 1960s, the poem captures the anxieties and fears of a generation on the brink of social upheaval. Plath’s masterful use of language and imagery makes the poem not only a literary triumph, but also a powerful statement about the human condition.

The Poem

The Times Are Tidy is a sonnet, fourteen lines of iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme of ABACCDCDEFEFGG. The poem is divided into two stanzas, with the first eight lines presenting a problem, and the last six lines offering a resolution.

The poem begins with a sense of disorientation and unease. Plath writes, “The times are tidy, room by room.” This seemingly innocuous opening quickly gives way to a sense of unease as the reader realizes that a world that is too tidy is not necessarily a good thing.

Plath continues to describe this world, with its “ordered rows of clocks and calendars.” These images, usually associated with the passage of time, are instead presented as oppressive and controlling. The clocks and calendars are “clean as a laundry,” suggesting a sense of sterility that is antithetical to life.

The second half of the first stanza presents an image of a “quiet school of Cartesian fish” swimming in an ordered fashion. The use of the word “Cartesian” is significant, as it refers to the philosophy of René Descartes, who believed in the power of reason and order. The fish are a metaphor for human beings, who are also expected to swim in an ordered fashion.

This image is further developed in the second stanza, where Plath writes, “The universe is clean today.” This line suggests a world that has been scrubbed of all its imperfections, with no room for anything that does not fit into the neat, ordered categories of modern society.

But the poem does not end on a note of despair. Instead, Plath offers a solution to this problem, writing, “There is not a jellyfish / Out of place.” The jellyfish, usually seen as a symbol of chaos and unpredictability, are here presented as a necessary counterpoint to the overly ordered world of clocks and calendars.

Literary Criticism

At its core, The Times Are Tidy is a critique of modern society and its emphasis on order and control. Plath’s use of imagery is particularly effective in conveying this message. The clocks and calendars, for example, are usually seen as symbols of time, but here they are presented as oppressive and controlling.

The fish are also a powerful metaphor, representing the ways in which human beings are expected to swim in an ordered fashion, never straying from the path laid out for them by society. The use of the word “Cartesian” is particularly significant, as it suggests that this expectation is based on a philosophical belief in the power of reason and order.

Plath’s use of the jellyfish as a counterpoint to this ordered world is particularly effective. By presenting the jellyfish, usually seen as a symbol of chaos and unpredictability, as a necessary component of the world, Plath suggests that a certain level of disorder is necessary for life to thrive.

Interpretation

At a deeper level, The Times Are Tidy can be seen as a commentary on the human condition. The poem suggests that human beings are caught between a desire for order and control, and a need for chaos and unpredictability.

The clocks and calendars, for example, represent our desire for order and control, while the jellyfish represent our need for chaos and unpredictability. The fish, swimming in an ordered fashion, represent the ways in which we are expected to conform to societal norms, while the jellyfish represent the parts of ourselves that do not fit into those neat categories.

Plath’s solution to this problem is not to reject order and control altogether, but to recognize the importance of chaos and unpredictability. The jellyfish, she suggests, are a necessary counterpoint to the overly ordered world of clocks and calendars.

In this sense, The Times Are Tidy can be seen as a call to embrace the messiness of life, to recognize that a certain level of disorder is necessary for growth and change. The poem is a reminder that life is not always neat and tidy, and that sometimes the most powerful moments come from those places of chaos and unpredictability.

Conclusion

Sylvia Plath’s The Times Are Tidy is a powerful meditation on the human condition, and a critique of the overly ordered world of modern society. Through her masterful use of language and imagery, Plath presents a world that is both oppressive and unsettling, while at the same time offering a solution to this problem.

The poem is a call to embrace the messiness of life, to recognize the importance of chaos and unpredictability, and to reject the overly ordered world of clocks and calendars. It is a reminder that life is not always neat and tidy, and that sometimes the most powerful moments come from those places of chaos and unpredictability.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

The Times Are Tidy: A Masterpiece by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath is one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, and her poem "The Times Are Tidy" is a masterpiece that showcases her exceptional talent. The poem was written in 1962, just two years before Plath's tragic death, and it reflects her deep sense of despair and disillusionment with the world around her. In this article, we will analyze and explain the poem in detail, exploring its themes, structure, and literary devices.

The poem begins with the line "The times are tidy, room by room," which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The use of the word "tidy" suggests a sense of order and control, but it is quickly undercut by the next line, "The morning fires are banked with damp." This line introduces a sense of decay and dampness, which contrasts with the neatness of the first line. The use of the word "banked" also suggests a sense of containment, as if the fires are being held back or restrained.

The second stanza continues this theme of decay and containment, with the lines "Through slats of ash I can see / Winter whiteness beyond the hill." The image of the "slats of ash" suggests a sense of confinement or imprisonment, while the "winter whiteness" beyond the hill suggests a world beyond the speaker's immediate surroundings. The use of the word "whiteness" also suggests a sense of purity or innocence, which contrasts with the decay and dampness of the previous stanza.

The third stanza introduces a new theme, that of time and mortality. The lines "The pears are juicy as memory, / And warm and sweet / As the heat in the fire." The use of the word "memory" suggests a sense of nostalgia or longing for the past, while the warmth and sweetness of the pears suggests a sense of comfort and security. However, the final line of the stanza, "Time has not touched them yet," suggests that this comfort and security is fleeting and temporary.

The fourth stanza returns to the theme of decay and containment, with the lines "The walls are soft, the mortar loose, / And crumbling to the touch." The use of the word "soft" suggests a sense of weakness or vulnerability, while the "loose" mortar and "crumbling" walls suggest a sense of decay and disintegration. The final line of the stanza, "But lime and song / Keep the heart of the house from breaking," suggests that despite the decay and vulnerability, there is still a sense of resilience and strength.

The fifth and final stanza returns to the theme of time and mortality, with the lines "The children's faces, / Grave with adult shadows, / Smiling out of the picture frame." The use of the word "grave" suggests a sense of seriousness or solemnity, while the "adult shadows" suggest a loss of innocence or childhood. The final line, "And time has turned / The family plot into a straight line," suggests a sense of finality and inevitability, as if time has erased the individuality and uniqueness of the family members.

In terms of structure, the poem is composed of five stanzas, each with four lines. The use of quatrains gives the poem a sense of symmetry and balance, which contrasts with the themes of decay and disintegration. The use of enjambment, where lines run on into the next without punctuation, gives the poem a sense of fluidity and movement, which contrasts with the sense of containment and confinement.

In terms of literary devices, the poem is rich in imagery and metaphor. The use of the word "tidy" in the first line is a metaphor for the sense of order and control that the speaker desires, but which is ultimately elusive. The image of the "slats of ash" in the second stanza is a metaphor for the sense of confinement and imprisonment that the speaker feels. The use of the word "memory" in the third stanza is a metaphor for the sense of nostalgia and longing that the speaker feels for the past. The image of the "soft" walls and "loose" mortar in the fourth stanza is a metaphor for the sense of vulnerability and decay that the speaker feels. The use of the word "grave" in the fifth stanza is a metaphor for the sense of seriousness and solemnity that the speaker feels.

In conclusion, "The Times Are Tidy" is a masterpiece of modern poetry that showcases Sylvia Plath's exceptional talent. The poem explores themes of decay, containment, time, and mortality, and uses a variety of literary devices to create a sense of depth and complexity. The poem's structure and use of imagery and metaphor give it a sense of symmetry and balance, which contrasts with the themes of decay and disintegration. Overall, "The Times Are Tidy" is a powerful and haunting work of art that continues to resonate with readers today.

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