Crossing The Water - Sylvia Plath Notes

Crossing The Water - Sylvia Plath

Poet and the Poem

Sylvia Plath commited suicide in 1963. She was in an unhappy marriage, suffered from depression, hospitalised at 20 for attempted suicide, her father died when she was 8 and had friends who commited suicide. 

Meaning and Intention

It is about the idea of death and destiny, and her feeling of insignificance in the world. She explores the feeling of death, and the acceptance of death. Plath said herself that the poem comes out of the emotional experiences she has had. 

Structure and Form

It has 4, uniform triadic stanzas, and seems as if it is an examinnation and expression of her thoughts. 

Rhythm and Rhyme

• There is no deliberate rhyme, as rhyme in a poem is normally associated with happiness and joy, particularly as rhyme is often associated with songs. Due to the nature of the poem, there is no deliberate rhyme - the poem is an expression for her.
• No distinct rhythm, but the use of phonological devices gives the poem fluidity. 

Lexis and Grammar

• ‘Black’ – lots of references to black and darkness.…