p3

• TS: Contextual lens -> depict Plath's distrust in religious systems

  in context of: husband's infidelity and death of father -> plath grappled feelings of abandonment.

  • emotional bonds forged through love shattered Plath -> leave her struggling with intense disillusionment and betrayal

  E: God topples from the sky, hells fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men
• God topples from the sky, hells fires fade: exist seraphim and satans men?

  • intense religious imagery: bleak version of afterlife, filled with nothingness -> represent utter loss of faith in "god....seraphim and satans men"
  • unorthodox religious imagery -> plath's rejection of conventional religious constructs hence refutes societal expectation
  • strong divine imagery: symbolise persona internal turmoil/despair -> crisis where speaker feels abandoned and betrayed from both divine and malevolent forces
• context?

  death of paternal figure evoke vulnerability, neglect and desertion. in face of such loss, plath question fairness of life and so called benevolence of higher power, feeling betrayed by divine forces -> allow tragedy to occur

  • dual betrayal, coupled with emotional turmoil -> eroded plaths trust in godly forces
• personal ?

  resonate own experiences of faith and loss. Plath’s disillusionment, likely stemming from losing family members, mirrors my journey as an atheist after similar losses. Raised without belief in a higher power, I found these lines capturing the stark reality I faced—a world where traditional notions of heaven and hell felt irrelevant. Plath’s words powerfully express the void left by the absence of spiritual comfort, reflecting a shared struggle and acceptance of a universe without divine intervention.