Duality In Sylvia Plath's Two Sisters Of Persephone

Under my feminist reading, I see the poem as an attempt by the poet to exist as an independent autonomist woman by rejecting the traditional patriarchal ideology that women were subjected to at the time. Plath begins the poem with the line ‘stasis in darkness’, symbolic of the fact that women at the time were trapped in the darkness of patriarchal society. She uses the term ‘God’s lioness’ as a reversal of gender expectations to show her support for the rise of feminism.

The author of “Two Sisters of Persephone” elucidates the theme of personality through figurative language. What is seen in the poem as “two sisters within the house” could actually represent two different personalities within a being. These personalities are very contrasting, where one is very lonely but intelligent, and the other is social and outgoing. Both of these personalities have the same wasted fate, which hints the fact that they are the same person.

    Byblis and Myrrha, two of Ovid's impassioned, transgressive heroines, confess incestuous passions. Byblis yearns for her brother, Caunus, and Myrrha lusts for her father, Cinyras. Mandelbaum translates these tales effectively, but sometimes a different translation by Crane brings new meaning to an argument. As Byblis and Myrrha realize the feelings at hand, they weigh the pros and cons of such emotions. Despite the appalling relationships in question, each young girl provides concrete support and speaks in such a way that provokes pity for her plight. Their paths of reasoning coincide, but Byblis starts where Myrrha's ends, and visa versa; Myrrha begins where Byblis' concludes.

It tends to be the trend for women who have had traumatic childhoods to be attracted to men who epitomize their emptiness felt as children. Women who have had unaffectionate or absent fathers, adulterous husbands or boyfriends, or relatives who molested them seem to become involved in relationships with men who, instead of being the opposite of the “monsters” in their lives, are the exact replicas of these ugly men. Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy” is a perfect example of this unfortunate trend. In this poem, she speaks directly to her dead father and her husband who has been cheating on her, as the poem so indicates.

Borrowing from German mythology, the poem “Lorelei” begins to exhibit Plath’s fascination with death (Aird 23). Water imagery, rooted in her childhood on the Atlantic ocean, plays a tremendous role in Plath’s poetry. The last years with her father still alive were spent near water (Steve nson, 9-10). The river in the poem symbolizes both the childhood she wishes to recapture and an escape from the life she now leads. The sirens rise up from the bottom of the river, “their limbs ponderous / With richness, hair heavier / Than sculpted marble” (Plath C. 22). They sing hypnotically, making silver promises of a

In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap

Sylvia’s Plath’s “Metaphors” is about a woman feeling insignificant during the midst of her pregnancy. Striking imagery is used to explore the narrator’s attitudes about having a child. Plath uses metaphors in every line, including the title itself, making the poem a collection of clues. The reader is teasingly challenged to figure out these clues, realising that the metaphors have

Eavan Boland’s poem “The Pomegranate” utilizes the intricacies of the Greek myth of Persephone and elegantly intertwines the story to detail the bond of daughter and mother and the cyclical journey from daughter to mother. The myth of Persephone deeply resonates within Boland due to the versatility and impactful meaning of the story. Which in turn gives the poem a ambivalent and bittersweet emotional narrative with a reflective tone. Boland immediately manipulates the cyclical essence of the poem through juxtaposing the little girl in the myth, Persephone, to the little girl reading the poem, the narrator. The author does this by seemingly mixing the two together as displayed in the following lines, “I can enter it anywhere and have. As a

Sylvia Plath was influenced to write poems early on in her life. One of the biggest influences within her writing include her father, Otto Plath. Otto Plath had died from an illness caused by diabetes in 1940. After this traumatizing event, Plath had written very vivid poems explaining her problematic relationship with her father, and her feelings after he had died. She wrote a poem named Daddy (“Sylvia Plath” Poetry). Daddy is a poem including a characteristic person representing Plath’s father in real life. Her father in the poem is a dark person that Sylvia Plath has to “kill” (Ardagh, Emily). Plath was very upset about this sudden death of her father, so she thought the perfect idea was to write a poem about him. Another important person

mirror. Who are almost getting in the way so to speak of its life and

Sylvia Plath was a troubled writer to say the least, not only did she endure the loss of her father a young age but she later on “attempted suicide at her home and was hospitalized, where she underwent psychiatric treatment” for her depression (Dunn). Writing primarily as a poet, she only ever wrote a single novel, The Bell Jar. This fictional autobiography “[chronicles] the circumstances of her mental collapse and subsequent suicide attempt” but from the viewpoint of the fictional protagonist, Esther Greenwood, who suffers the same loss and challenges as Plath (Allen 890). Due to the novel’s strong resemblance to Plath’s own history it was published under the pseudonym “Victoria Lucas”. In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath expresses the

Mirrors reflect the truth we see within ourselves. The poem, “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath, explains how a woman that deliberately stares at her own reflection in a mirror and then in a lake. Plath’s poem is written from the mirror's viewpoint and what it identifies and how it describes to the woman within its outlook. Plath presents the mirror with humanlike characteristics, like a heart, but the mirror offers no judgment. The mirror presents the woman's appearance, but more particularly it forces her to focus in her self-inspection. Three elements that I have picked that describes the poem are theme, symbolism, and tone.

Poets, Judith Wright, Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickenson all express their views on life and death, however, do so in varying manners. Through imagery, Wright and Plath both consider life’s beginnings, however, Wright considers it to be a beautiful gift, whereas Plath views birth as an empty burden. Subsequently, through structure Dickenson and Wright each acknowledge life, expressing how in some cases it is difficult, yet in other circumstances it is celebrated. Finally, through tone, Dickenson and Plath convey their views on death, yet differ in that Plath believes it is purifying and holds a sick fascination with it, while Dickenson instead holds a unique curiosity about it. Therefore, whilst each poet recognises the journey of birth,

Myrrha and Byblis, two of Ovid's emotional, socially non-conforming female leads, confess to incestuous desires; Byblis lusts for her brother, Caunus, and Myrrha hungers for her father, Cinyras. As Byblis and Myrrha come to realize their secret feelings, they scrutinize the good and bad of such passions. In spite of the revolting relationships in question, each young woman offers tangible evidence and expresses in such a way that incites pity for her dilemma. Their variety of comprehension overlap, but Myrrha starts where Byblis ends and in retrospect; Byblis begins where Myrrha has finished.

In Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Mirror” we are looking at two perspectives within it. One may be so obvious to us while the other one is very subtle. The most obvious perspective is the mirror itself but the other one is the woman looking at her reflection. When we think about the perspective of the mirror, we imagine ourselves as an inanimate object that yet still has its own thoughts about what it sees. Taking the perspective as the woman we imagine ourselves as we are when we look in the mirror or we imagine the viewpoint from someone who is aging, worn down and feels defeated.