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Poet: Sylvia Plath
Poem: Crossing The Water
Volume: The Collected Poems
Year: Published/Written in 1962
Poem of the Day:
Mar 31 2004
Comment 3 of 3, added on December 16th, 2006 at 4:20 AM.
we know thet sylvia suffered from a mental illness throught her life.she attended to commit suicide several times,and death was always in her mind.she also lost her dady when 8 years old.this poem is exactly about death.everythink is black in her world,black is the color of death.shadows are the world of ideas,imitations(from greek plato),it's not the real world.little light symbolizes that she is still alive and hope for life,she is not in a hurry...but still,she thinks of death!full of dark advice is a clue in here.at the beginning of poem we see the image of lake,the symbol to which i came across in her mirror poem before. she travels in a black boat in a black lake.this lake is the lake of fate,an allusion from greek mythology.it is again the world of death and it is cold.i again see a metaohor that see used in her mirror poem,fish.difficulties makes goodbyes hard says she in the lines a snag is lifting a valedictory.stars open among the lilies,she is still in the waters,lily is an water plant,this line has a connestion with the line a little light is filtering from the water flowers,and these flowers are exactly lilies!the sky is open and she can see the stars.stars are symbols of our fates!she can see and travel through her future,her death...yes,death is emotionless,silent,still,dark,terrifying.souls are shocked because of this silence,stilness of death...and this world is the world of DEATH.
this poem is amazing for me,i really love sylvia's style.she's a great poet i think.althougt this is a poem about death,she newer used the word of death!i can see wit in her poems.perfect...
elis from Turkey
Comment 2 of 3, added on February 11th, 2006 at 7:39 PM.
This poem made me think about death. If you think about it, you might too. The symbols are really distinct too, but at first they didn't jump out at me the way they probably should have.
The river Styx in Greek mythology is the barrier that the souls must cross to get to the underworld.
The stars are what most draw our attention when somone we love has died.
The pale hand seems to refer to the hand of a corpse.
Lilies, however beautiful are the flower of death.
And the word expressionless? Yes, death has no expression.
These are the symbols that are the most significant in this poem, and that's why this poem reminds me of death. Although it's a very beautiful poem, no matter what it's about.
Samantha from United States
Comment 1 of 3, added on November 4th, 2004 at 8:58 PM.
this poem is full of expression and emotive feelings. i never really read anything from Sylvia Plath but this is the work of a true genius.
Esther Parks from Australia
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Comments
we know thet sylvia suffered from a mental illness throught her life.she attended to commit suicide several times,and death was always in her mind.she also lost her dady when 8 years old.this poem is exactly about death.everythink is black in her world,black is the color of death.shadows are the world of ideas,imitations(from greek plato),it's not the real world.little light symbolizes that she is still alive and hope for life,she is not in a hurry...but still,she thinks of death!full of dark advice is a clue in here.at the beginning of poem we see the image of lake,the symbol to which i came across in her mirror poem before. she travels in a black boat in a black lake.this lake is the lake of fate,an allusion from greek mythology.it is again the world of death and it is cold.i again see a metaohor that see used in her mirror poem,fish.difficulties makes goodbyes hard says she in the lines a snag is lifting a valedictory.stars open among the lilies,she is still in the waters,lily is an water plant,this line has a connestion with the line a little light is filtering from the water flowers,and these flowers are exactly lilies!the sky is open and she can see the stars.stars are symbols of our fates!she can see and travel through her future,her death...yes,death is emotionless,silent,still,dark,terrifying.souls are shocked because of this silence,stilness of death...and this world is the world of DEATH.
this poem is amazing for me,i really love sylvia's style.she's a great poet i think.althougt this is a poem about death,she newer used the word of death!i can see wit in her poems.perfect...
elis from Turkey