16 pages • 32 minutes read
James K. BaxterWild Bees
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1949A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Beehive
The beehive is the epicenter of the poem’s action. The first stanza presents the beehive as a dark, foreboding place, the bees “clustering black at the crevice / Of a rotten cabbage tree” (Lines 5-6). This creates an atmosphere of adversity and antagonism contrasting with the opening’s lighter, summer imagery.
Later, the hive becomes a site of bloodshed. The speaker compares it to the great battles of classical myth. The inclusion of “torches” (Line 19) and “flames” (Line 20) evoke a burning battlefield. The hive is where heroes and enemies have fallen, and the speaker is now left to pick up the pieces of their onslaught. We have the image of “earth-black smouldering ashes” (Line 22), reminiscent of a ruined city after a war.
As the speaker sees their carnage, they begin to view the beehive as something more than an object to be conquered. It is “the city of instinctive wisdom” (Line 25). This ties into the theme of natural instinct; the bees have created not just honey, but an artistic kingdom. This contrasts with the imagery at the poem’s opening; it shows how the speaker has grown.
Honey
The beehive is the poem’s battlefield and honey is the treasure. Honey is a reminder of the bees that are lost and the pain experienced by the group of friends.
In the poem’s opening, the speaker views the honey as a valuable though ultimately lifeless commodity made through the bees’ “passionless industry” (Line 5). This suggests something without any sentimental or artistic value, but a prize to be taken. The bees that guard it are described as “sentries” (Line 13) willing to die for their cause. The poem reaches its turning point in the aftermath of this battle. As the friends retrieve their spoils, they see that the prize has been devalued as a consequence of their efforts to obtain it.
As the poem reaches its close, the speaker reflects: “Tragedy is written distinct and small” (Line 26). This suggests a dual view of the honey that they fought so hard for; it becomes a little thing, not worthy of so many deaths, and also something great and monumental in a microcosmic world.
Ophelia
In the first stanza, the speaker refers to themselves as “a safe Ophelia drifting / In a rented boat” (Lines 2-3), part of a larger picture of peaceful summer days. Ophelia is a leading female character in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Ophelia was Hamlet’s love interest; his gaslighting leads to her losing her mind and life. Ophelia fell into a river and drowned— whether by accident or by intent is open to debate. Many classic works of art depict Ophelia near water, leaning over it or submerged.
Ophelia’s history conflicts with the speaker’s use of the word “safe.” It is possible the image of a safely floating Ophelia represents a space out of time, born away from the hardships and responsibilities of the world. It may also be that Baxter was inspired by the depictions of Ophelia’s final resting place, a peaceful woodland setting in summer. This moment in the poem captures the peace that Ophelia may have experienced in her last moments, leaving troubled love and politics behind for a simple and timeless tranquility.
