How can you construct a commentary or literary essay that explains the poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath as a story about history, rebellion and...

To begin crafting a literary essay about the poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath, you should first create an outline. Structurally, outlines will help keep essays organized and the continuity of ideas clear. There should be three main sections in the body of your outline--one each for history, rebellion, and revolution. An introduction will go before the body addressing your controlling purpose of the essay. At the end will, of course, be a conclusion wrapping up your ideas. 

In terms of history, "Mushrooms" is often analyzed as a poem with a feminist message. Critics argue that Plath was referring to women's rights and women being respected as equal to men. Lines that can be used as evidence include: "Nobody sees us," and "Earless and eyeless, [...] Perfectly voiceless" (7, 15-16). 

The rebellion that echoes throughout the poem sustains the idea that women are coming to the fore of social evolution. Lines that would support such claims include: "Soft fists insist . . ." and "Our hammers, our rams [...] Widen the crannies, Shoulder through holes" (10, 14, 17-18). 

The poem remarks on revolution by stating the change is soon to come. The final three lines of the poem perhaps say this best: "We shall by morning Inherit the earth. Our foot's in the door" (31-33).