Sylvia Plath - Ariel poems
- Created by: ayahm96
- Created on: 18-03-15 10:30
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- Sylvia Plath "Ariel Poems" 1965
- The Rival
- Written a year before she died, possibly about different people including her husband or the woman he had an affair with (Assia Wevill)
- references to death in the poem - "mausoleum", "dying to say something", "annihilating"
- Plath's feelings towards her husbands affair could be reflected by the destructive language
- self-destructive language also present in other Plath poems e.g. "Dying / is an art, like everything else / I do it exceptionally"
- Plath's feelings towards her husbands affair could be reflected by the destructive language
- references to death in the poem - "mausoleum", "dying to say something", "annihilating"
- Plath's feelings towards her husbands affair could be reflected by the destructive language
- self-destructive language also present in other Plath poems e.g. "Dying / is an art, like everything else / I do it exceptionally"
- poisonous imagery shows destruction of the relationship - "cigarettes", "carbon monoxide"
- Could also be addressed to her husband Ted Hughes who had an affair with another woman
- this could be the "rival" Plath is referring to
- use of a conceit - Plath compares the Rival to the moon
- the Moon is seen as beautiful - not usually compared to rivals (jealousy, destruction)
- moon is personified "the moon smiled"
- themes: jealousy in love, self destruction, betrayal (husband's affair"
- Written a year before she died, possibly about different people including her husband or the woman he had an affair with (Assia Wevill)
- Stings
- highlights the relationship between Plath and her husband "He and I"
- enjambment used to extend thoughts of the speaker
- shows resentment towards married life
- starts off with delicate language "the man in white", "white in pink flowers"
- "bare handed" repeated through the poem, possibly shows trust she has in her husband before infidelity
- repetition of number 8 throughout could be symbolic of eight years of marriage
- shift in the poem - from pure imagery and happy memories to realistic and dismal language
- ‘though for years I have eaten dust and dried plates with my dense hair’
- allusion to the Bible?
- ‘strangeness’ and ‘dangerous skin’ could refer to her individuality
- The Rival
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