Caitlin
As Sylvia Plath was bipolar, 'Balloons' might have been a poem about the highs and lows in her life, her moods like balloons that might pop, making life bleak once again. It seems, though, that she is hinting once again at a common theme found in her poetry - the loss of innocence, marked by the popping of a red balloon.

Plath's focus is not so much on worlds destroyed but on the wonder and beauty of unexpected change. The small boy is surprised, and yet is calm and contemplative. Childhood allows us to see the world as a beautiful, exciting place. But at some point that innocence is lost when eventually we see the reality of our lives, and we see the real world as it is. All we are left with is a small piece of what made us see the world differently in the first place. The world is no longer lively with colours but is "clear as water".

And alternative insight would be in the scene with the child and the balloon, the boy is intrigued by the red balloon and then when it pops he contemplates a "clear world". This shows a contrast between the dream-like state of childhood to the harshness of objective reality. This seems more likely than the earlier interpretation given Plath's background.

Caitlin
Balloons was one of Plath's last poems, and she was always engaged in confessional poetry. The "red shrewd in his fist" is either meant to give some morbid imagery to the dead corpse of what she described as empty creatures, or the representation of broken childhood dreams. Plath suffered from depression and was bipolar, so the "red shred in his fist" might be a representation of herself.

Regina
The predominant mood of the poem is a mix of dull and brightness, as Plath depicts the balloons as living souls. The balloons help to brighten up the place which they are placed in, including "dead furniture" with "straw mats, white walls" which are very plain and unpleasing.

It also shows that with these balloons, it makes the mood of the place better as Plath used the word "delighting". The use of colours in the poem, such as "yellow cathead" and "blue fish" also lighten up the environment of the balloons.

However, the mood can be easily broken as well, as balloons are easily deflated. Plath may also be implying that this perfect scene is easily shattered, as she depicts a boy biting the balloon, and easily popping it. She emphasises the harshness of reality as she uses phrases such as "contemplating a world as clear as water." Although she compares innocent souls to bright and colourful balloons, balloons are ultimately filled with nothing but air. This also shows how superficial and short term childhood and happy moments actually are.


Ultimately, the general somber mood is used to reflect the loss of innocence in children, especially when they discover the dullness and complications of adulthood.

Rachel
Moving on to Craftmanship, we see how Plath has used several method to convey her message, a common theme throughout her last poems - loss of innocence.

Structure of the poem shows her ambivalence and detachment from her family, by being very neat and emotionless. However, the structure changes later, during the "pop" when everything slows down.

Plath uses vivid and descriptive language, with several different tones within the short poem. She also uses a lot of figurative language.

Sounds are mostly used to punctuate the slow-paced rhythm of the poem. As the poem has a generally slow pace, "shrieks" and "squeaks" contrasts very much, giving a sense of foreshadowing

E-Zen
The stanzas in the poem have regular number of five lines. All sections deal with themes of fragility of life and how temporary childhood is. Throughout the poem, the idea of Plath ending her life was evident, and indeed, this poem was written just days before her suicide. Plath also takes on an observational tone as she observes the daily occurrences and things around her, especially her children. The idea of loss of innocence and the fragility of life is repeated throughout the stanzas.

Some sentences were divided and carried on into the next stanza. The clever use of enjambment and incomplete thoughts up in each line was as if the poem itself was a balloon. This has an effect on the poem as it seems to reflect a common theme in Plath's poetry - loss of innocence

E-Zen
The poet's choice of words is rather interesting - she describes the life like features of the balloons as quiet souls in a home. Using vivid and descriptive language, she expresses her imagination and makes use of her usual style of perceiving unordinary details and characteristics in ordinary everyday objects. Many forms of figurative language were used, which we will explore later in 'Imagery'.

The poem takes on a more cynical tone and language pm and perhaps that is due to the way Plath died. She writes about the goings on in a home writing "Since Christmas they have lived with us, guileless and clear, oval soul-animals, taking up half the space".

Her observational tone seems to realise certain aspects of things around her, especially in reference to her children, when she writes "Your small brother is making his balloon squeak like a car. Seeming to see a funny pink world he might eat in the other side of it." This line seems to describe a mother watching her child eat a balloon, and given what we know about parenting and child safety, the mother is not fully present and seems ambivalent to her children.

The tone of ambivalence is evident throughout the poem, with Plath's observation of "invisible air drifts, giving a shriek and a pop." Plath took normal everyday situations and attributed a sense of foreboding to them in order to help us understand her impending doom and detached sense.

I think the use of a family and home is significant because it shows Plath's evident lack of concern and emotional connection to her family, as well as the state of home, which goes against the traditional female role of mother and homemaker

Christy
PERSONIFICATION
Balloons are compared to humans, and given human characteristics
"When attacked, then scooting to rest, barely trembling"
"Giving a shriek and a pop"

IMAGERY
Balloons are described as colourful objects, bringing life and colours to the bland
"Yellow cathead, blue fish"
"Instead of dead furniture! Straw mats, white walls and these travelling globes of thin air, red, green, delighting"

METAPHORS
"Such queer moons we live with"
"Globes of thin air"

SIMILE
"Squeak like a cat"
"A world clear as water"

Rachel
The overall rhythm of the poem is slow-paced, which gives the poem an observational tone. It shows Plath's detachment from her family, as if she is already a ghost watching from above. I think this is another reference to her upcoming suicide.

The first four stanzas are very similar in terms of rhythm, as they consist of five lines of six syllables. Though the poem is written in free verse, there is still a sense of rhythm as she writes in syllables.

However, the last stanza is different as the lines are no longer standardised and sentences are broken into pieces. Though pops in real life are quick and sudden, the pop depicted is in parts, slowing down the process. I believe this is another vivid description of Plath, which describes feeling of slow motion when one is in shock.

Regina
Although the rhythm is fairly consistent, the 'shrieks and squeaks' provide some ominous foreshadowing later in the poem.

Certainly, this is followed by a 'pop' displaying an abrupt breaks to the set pace.

Christy
The poem demonstrates the loss of innocence by the popping of the balloon. It contrasts the world seen when one is small and naive- simple and funny- and when one has grown up- harsh and in shreds.

It also has several lifelike feautres, depicting souls in a quiet home.

(Many of Plath's last few poems has referenced to the Holocaust, and 'Balloons' is not an exception. During the Holocaust, Jews were fooled into believing they were going on a vacation. This is referenced in "A funny pink world he might eat on the other side of it", as if the whole thing was a joke. Little did the Jews know that they were being led to die. The little brother mentioned in the poem could be young, newly recruited German soldiers who have yet to realise the cruelty of what they were doing. "A red shred in his little fist" would refer to the blood shed because of what the soldiers have done.)