Two Sisters Of Persephone - A poem by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath - Two Sisters Of Persephone

Two girls there are : within the house
One sits; the other, without.
Daylong a duet of shade and light
Plays between these. 

In her dark wainscoted room
The first works problems on
A mathematical machine.
Dry ticks mark time 

As she calculates each sum.
At this barren enterprise
Rat-shrewd go her squint eyes,
Root-pale her meager frame. 

Bronzed as earth, the second lies,
Hearing ticks blown gold
Like pollen on bright air. Lulled
Near a bed of poppies, 

She sees how their red silk flare
Of petaled blood
Burns open to the sun's blade.
On that green alter 

Freely become sun's bride, the latter
Grows quick with seed.
Grass-couched in her labor's pride,
She bears a king. Turned bitter 

And sallow as any lemon,
The other, wry virgin to the last,
Goes graveward with flesh laid waste,
Worm-husbanded, yet no woman.

Added: on September 4th, 2009 at 2:22 PM | Viewed: 18248 times | Comments and analysis of Two Sisters Of Persephone by Sylvia Plath Comments (54)

Two Sisters Of Persephone - Comments and Information
Poet: Sylvia Plath (Sylvia Plath Art) Poem: Two Sisters Of Persephone Poem of the Day: Dec 12 2004 Comment 54 of 54, added on November 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 PM. Incorrect Interpretation I've seen this comment repeated several times so far.. The second sister, who "bears a king" does NOT become "bitter and sallow as any lemon". If you read the sixth and seventh stanza correctly, you'll notice that it says "Turned bitter / and sallow as any lemon / the other / wry virgen to the last / goes graveward" etc... By saying "the other", Plath is referring to the first sister. When reading poetry it is important to recite it out loud and go through it carefully before making assumptions about its meaning. TwoSisters from United States Comment 53 of 54, added on September 7th, 2009 at 7:05 PM. To better understand this poem, it is, in my opinion, ideal to know the myth of Persephone. It backs up the conjecture that this poem is indeed about different sides of the same woman. The woman inside is Hecate, the wise crone, and the woman outside is Kore, the young maiden. These two sides could also be an allusion to Plath herself, who is known to have struggled between being a mother with responsibility, but being glorified (the light woman), or being a writer with freedom, but being seen as having achieved nothing (the dark woman). It ultimately shows them both ending in the same manner: death and bitterment. Hannah from United States Comment 52 of 54, added on September 4th, 2009 at 2:22 PM. I definitely believe this poem reflects both sides of Plath. The first sister working on math is the side of her who values her virginity. However, if she never finds a partner, society sees her body as a waste. She did not do her job as a woman, even though she argued throughout her life that she should be free to experience sex just like any man. The second sister becomes pregnant and possibly married. However, the poem says that she's "bitter and sallow." This leads us to believe that she is not truly happy. I think that this reflects Plath's views on society and how they see women or maybe Plath herself. I get the feeling that she feels no matter what she does, she can't make anyone happy. If she does not have sex, her body is wasteful according to society. If she enjoys herself, she isn't happy either because of the consequences that go with it. Leandra Holmes from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Two Sisters Of Persephone, has received 54 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Sylvia Plath with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Sylvia Plath Poem: Two Sisters Of Persephone Last read: Nov 24 2009, 10:07PM Poem of the Day: Dec 12 2004 Viewed 18248 times. Added on September 4th, 2009 at 2:22 PM.

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