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Comment 14 of 44, added on March 15th, 2010 at 1:32 PM.
To understand the metaphors within this profound poem, it is important to
look at the ORIGINAL narrative of 'the little mermaid' as written by Hans
Christian Andersen in 1837. The Mermaids inability to kill her true love in
order to preserve her own life echoes the sentiments of martyrs that lived
before Plath and indeed the fictional character Ariel is told using the
beautiful metaphoric rhetoric of Plath. a true genius, it is scary how it
could also be perfect example of Roman a' Clef, whereby the narrative of
Ariel Echoes her toils in her own turbulent marriage with Ted Hughes whom
eventually left Plath for Assia Wevill. Perhaps ted is the prince, Ariel is
Plath and Wevill represents the eventual spouse of the prince. This loss of
the prince's affection to Wevill could correlate directly to the eventual
suicide of Plath. Plath was also a self confessed 'Electra Complex'
sufferer. So maybe the prince could actually represent her father and the
eventual wife of the prince could represent her own mother and the
resentment she may have never resolved with her mother up to her eventual
suicide. All in all, the poem makes you question the very nature of the
selfless aspect of love and the sacrifice it makes a woman undergo through
blind devotion to her man which was originally explored in the little
mermaid fairytale, a theme which some may say remains timeless in the
philosophical exploration of the nature of love itself.
Christopher King from United Kingdom
Comment 13 of 44, added on June 17th, 2009 at 4:33 PM.
I like this poem so much that I would like to see this poem more often
Meagan from United States
Comment 12 of 44, added on December 10th, 2008 at 9:49 AM.
Alright, so here's what I got:
Going back to Plath's previous poems which most ( if not all) is about her
life, I agree that this piece is about her final awakenings.
"Stasis in darkness. Then the substanceless blue Pour or tor and
distances," this refers to how she has envisioned her life: calm, balanced
only in her mind (darkness), however, in "the substanceless blue [real
life, in the open]" it is full of endless rocky roads and obstacles.
Plath refers to numerous "Ariels" in this poem. The first, "God's lioness,"
the angel of new beginnings. She displays connection towards this angel,
portraying her realization of her need for a new beginning. "The furrow
splits and passes sister to..." referring to it's accompany in the horse's
race for freedom, " the brown arc of the neck [she] cannot catch" This
displays her desire to catch up to her horse (which is also named Ariel),
to ride it in order to escape from her reality. "Nigger-eye," (-- perhaps
envy?)..then "hooks" holding her back from her desire to start new. The
following 3 paragraphs display her breakthrough. "Godiva, I unpeel dead
hands, dead stringencies,"-- Godiva rode naked through the streets of
Coventry in England; Plath, utilizes this image perhaps to display the
sense of freedom and open-ness she now experiences.
Her third reference to Ariel is seen through "Foam to wheat, a glitter of
seas." Ariel sacrificed herself by jumping into the sea (and turned into
sea foam). This perhaps is a reference to death in her poem, later
supported by "the child's cry melts in the wall," perhaps displaying her
end to responsibilities?...
ahhh its late i quit. -.-'
Molly from United States
Comment 11 of 44, added on October 17th, 2008 at 9:07 AM.
Valerie: what a fantastically ignorant thing to say. In your opinion 'it
seems way too easy to speak and write in metaphors.anyone can do it and
i don't think its some big accomplishment.' Personally I think it seems way
too easy to capitolise the first letter of a sentence yet you can't seem to
manage it...
person from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Comment 10 of 44, added on March 27th, 2006 at 9:31 PM.
I just wanted to say that if you cannot appreciate what is beyond your
ability of comprehension then don't say sheety stuff, pretending to be a
poet.
mira from Canada
Comment 9 of 44, added on February 11th, 2006 at 11:23 PM.
In this instance I am inclined to agree with Bilal Hasan. Though it is
admittedly delightful to sum up the ideas expressed into neat little
packages that can be easily referred to, this does not afford us an
instantaneous understanding of the intentions of the author involved, no
more than an icon affords us an instantaneous understanding of the
personage of God. The reader still requires some collaborative objectivity
on his/her part in order to just sit back and enjoy the ride the poet
intended for him/her, which intense speculation can, if taken to the nth
degree, spoil the effects of altogether -- not to mention threatening the
spontaneous effects of such superfluous niceties as beauty . Bu I know,
it's tempting, isn't it? :)
Keira from United States
Comment 8 of 44, added on January 31st, 2006 at 8:35 AM.
hi i love sylvia plaths poems and i have a lot incomen with her
miranda moore from United States
Comment 7 of 44, added on December 21st, 2005 at 8:04 AM.
this is in reply to valerie:
If you'd actually take the time to learn about Plath's background and try
to understand the novel, you would find that it's not just "random crap."
These are not just random metaphors- this is about her desire for rebirth
in the form of death. Think before you speak. Not all poets who use
metaphor have to be as bad at it as you are.
Bridget
Comment 6 of 44, added on November 8th, 2005 at 7:03 AM.
This is a reply to valarie's comment:
What an ignorant comment. This is not random stuff. For example: what do
you think this means:
Splits and passes, sister to
The brown arc
Of the neck I cannot catch,
This stanza is about the horse she had. "brown arc of the neck I cannot
catch" obviously horses move much faster than a human being.
Anyway. I don't know where you get your information, but I'm not surprised
that you write "crap." You're also shitty at interpretations. I'm not
impressed by you. Next.
me from Canada
Comment 5 of 44, added on July 19th, 2005 at 7:35 AM.
I'd just like to say that although plath's work is said to be the precursor
of Feminism, most of her work, esp. short-stories, are written in a rather
masculine voice
Azoth from Australia
This poem has been commented on more than 10 times. Click below to see the other comments.
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To understand the metaphors within this profound poem, it is important to
look at the ORIGINAL narrative of 'the little mermaid' as written by Hans
Christian Andersen in 1837. The Mermaids inability to kill her true love in
order to preserve her own life echoes the sentiments of martyrs that lived
before Plath and indeed the fictional character Ariel is told using the
beautiful metaphoric rhetoric of Plath. a true genius, it is scary how it
could also be perfect example of Roman a' Clef, whereby the narrative of
Ariel Echoes her toils in her own turbulent marriage with Ted Hughes whom
eventually left Plath for Assia Wevill. Perhaps ted is the prince, Ariel is
Plath and Wevill represents the eventual spouse of the prince. This loss of
the prince's affection to Wevill could correlate directly to the eventual
suicide of Plath. Plath was also a self confessed 'Electra Complex'
sufferer. So maybe the prince could actually represent her father and the
eventual wife of the prince could represent her own mother and the
resentment she may have never resolved with her mother up to her eventual
suicide. All in all, the poem makes you question the very nature of the
selfless aspect of love and the sacrifice it makes a woman undergo through
blind devotion to her man which was originally explored in the little
mermaid fairytale, a theme which some may say remains timeless in the
philosophical exploration of the nature of love itself.
Christopher King from United Kingdom