Jo Shapcott is a prolific poet that had won national poetry more than once. Trained both in Britain and America, Shapcott writes about smells, identity, sexual politics, myths, language as well as bodies. He uses surrealist as well as feminist wit to create playful, but powerfully imaginative and original pieces of literary work. Among other famous poems that he wrote include The Sting, I Tell The Bees, The Threshold, CCD, ‘Going About With The Bees’ as well ‘The Hive’. Even though these poems seem to talk about the same thing and sharing almost the same thematic concerns, the poems are varied and different in certain aspects. This paper attempts to compare the six poems based on their thematic concerns and incorporating stylistic devices as well as their effects on the poems.
To begin with, ‘Telling the Bees’, gives an insight on how people are usually curious about bees. The poem uses first person narration with the ‘I’ as the persona. This makes the poem to appear real to the person reading it more than when it could have employed the third person. Over and above this, it applies a direct address, It’s over, honies,’...’and now you’re mine’, in the last line of the poem (Jo, 9). The direct address is crucial in this poem since it creates interest and makes the poem more attractive to the reader. This evokes the reader’s emotions and create mood. The poem also employs the use of puns so as to make it more exciting. In addition, the whole poem emphases on the curiosity human beings have especially on what remains behind especially when the bees move away from their hives. The bees according to the persona move away from their hives without leaving a bee to take care of the hive. The title is thus meant to inform the bees of what happens to the hives when they are away. The observer in the first three lines says that the persona carries a book with all the information pertaining to bees.
The above poem seems related, though different from the poem, ‘The Threshold’. ‘The Threshold’ could be said to be similar with ‘I Tell the Bees’ since they both talk about the bees and their lifestyle. However, they are sharply contrasted, since ‘The Threshold’ concentrates on the life of the bees around hive and beyond. Whereas the ‘I Tell the Bees’ talk more about what happens to the hives when the bees leave. ‘The Threshold’ is more about the life of bees that very few people know about. It is concerned with the kind of communication used by the bees which human beings can never understand. The poem extensively uses metaphor to pass its message. For example, ‘...astronomy of pollen’ (Jo, 4). The metaphor in this poem is crucial as it aids the reader to figure out and picture what exactly happens when the bees return. Whereas the first poem is about a human being rejoicing going to the hive when the bees are out, ‘the threshold’ talks about the encounter of a person who is caught by the bees when they return home. It also informs the reader that some of the dances and movements of the bees may indicate a certain message. The persona says that his encounter with the bees enabled him to learn the communication of the bees. The poet also uses juxtaposition to bring his points clear as well as emphasize on the message. For instance, ‘the eye water was not water...’ (Jo, 11). This is a clear cut indication that when the bees return, they make create an uncomfortable life to the person since they attack his face and all parts of his body, so that it becomes even difficult for the person to cry because the bees are all over his face and other parts of his body. This poem is therefore quite different with, ‘I Tell the Bees’ because they present different situations and uses different styles to depict the situation.
The third poem is ‘The Hive’. This is an extension of the previous poem, since it also gives the picture of what happens at the hive when the bees return. To pass this information, the poet also employs the use of metaphor. For instance, ‘I smelled of bee bread and royal jelly’(Jo, 14). The wax and he honey that are manufactured in the hive are compared with bread and royal jelly. The poems presents to the reader the structure of the hive, as well as what happens inside the hives when bees arrive from there expedition. The poet presents the hive metaphorically like the body of a human being. For instance, the persona says, ‘the colony grew in my body....’ (Jo, 17). Over and above this, the hive is also compared with the palace where the queen mother is at the top of the hierarchy and there is a lot of activity just like the palace. This metaphor enables the reader to visualise how busy the hive is. It is empowering since it presents a ‘woman’ in the name of queen mother at the top of the hierarchy. This poem is quite similar with, ‘The Threshold’ since they both present activities in and around the hive. However, there are different in the sense that, ‘The Hive’ gives a clearer picture of what happens in the hive.
The fourth poem, ‘Going About With the Bees’, is similar with above poem, since they both talk about activities in the hive and the importance of hive and honey. Apart from metaphor as a style, the poet in this poem also employs the use of personification, ‘...waved their antennae.’ (Jo, 22). After doing a good job in the hive, the worker bees get out of the hive to rest outside. The hive is now composed of wax and honey, which are all crucial and valuable to human beings. When taken to the bank, the person would come out with a lot of money. ‘Passers-by with briefcase...’ (Jo, 10). A part from stressing on the fact that there are as lot of activities taking place in the hive, and that after all that work bees should rest, this poem also emphasizes on the fact the product of hard work is important to everyone. The city dwellers are ready give a lot of money exchange of honey. Assonance is another style that has been used in this poem. For example, ‘.....over paper and leather.’ (Jo, 11). This has been used by the poet to make the poem memorable and create rhythm. Over and above this, assonance as been used creates interest in the readers.
‘CCD’ is the fifth poem about bees that was written by Jo Shapcott. This poem seems to present the finality of the process of honey manufacturing. The hive is almost left with nothing, since the bees go away after everything is done, thus the hive is left like a skeleton. For instance, the persona says that, ‘My body.....became a thing f bones.’ (Jo, 12). This simply indicates that nothing is left in the hive, the moment the bees leave and honey taken away. To pass this message, the poet has employed a number of styles. For example, he has used rhyme, ‘twitch, and mismatch. (Jo, 2) The rhyme in this case has been used to create rhythm as well as to invoke interest in the readers. Apart from rhyme, the poet has also employed the use of hyperbole. He says that, ‘...honeycomb.....dissolved into blood...’ (Jo, 6). The information in this poem has be developed from the previous poem that talks about what happens to the products and by products of what the bees make in the hive. It is different to the poem, ‘Going about with the Bees’. In case of ‘CCD’, events taking place happen after the bees have gone, whereas in the former poem, the events revolve around what happen to the bees and the honey after the production. Even the styles are also different. However, it should be noted that the poem ‘CCD’ has been written in short lines as opposed to ‘the sting’, because it is meant to give emotional and concise representation of the bees.
The last poem by Jo Shapcott analyzed in these papers is ‘The Sting’. This poem talks about the danger of bees especially when the queen travels. The poets in this poem is painting the picture that, even bees are important and beneficial to people, sometimes they could be very dangerous and harmful to human beings. The poet emphasises that it is very dangerous for any person to stand on their way when they are look for a room. At this point the queen is wild and may harm anybody standing on its way. The sting is very dangerous and people should be wary of it. It is generally giving the summary of the poem by talking about events taking place when the queen is looking for another room where she could brood. The poet in ‘The Sting’ employs the use of paradox for example, ‘The sting is no sting.’ (Jo, 9). This paradox has been used in poem to emphasize on vitality of the message put across. It has been used to stress on the fact that the sting is very dangerous. This poem is closely related to ‘CCD’ because they are booth giving the last touch to what the last five poems were talking about. The summary of description of the life of bees. Apart from the fact that there are longer lines in ‘the sting’ and the use of paradox, the poet also employs the use of alliteration, ‘when, wild’ and repetition, ‘....the sting’(Jo, 12). The alliteration as well as the repetition is important since they help in stressing on the main point which is ‘sting’, and also alliteration help in the creation of musicality of the poem.
In conclusion, the above six poems by Jo Shapcott are related though different in certain areas. They provide the picture of the life of bees and experiences as well as events that take place before, during and even after the manufacturing of honey. Apart from this, the poet has used different styles like alliteration, repetition, paradox among others to attract the interest of the reader and also to emphasise on his points.
Works Cited
https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/six-bee-poems/
Jo Shapcott. Six Bee Poems. 2011
