Duality In Sylvia Plath's Two Sisters Of Persephone

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.

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,

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.

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

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.

In 1963 on a cold winter day of February 11th, Sylvia Plath ended her life. She had plugged up her kitchen, sealing up the cracks in doors and windows before she was found with her head inside of her gas oven inhaling the dangerous fumes. She was only thirty years old, a young woman with two small children and an estranged ex-husband. A tragic detail of her life is that this is the second time she had tried to commit suicide. Plagued with mental illness her whole life, which is evident within her poetry. She would write gripping, honest portrayals of mental illnesses. Especially within Ariel, the last poetry book she wrote, right before she took her life. Although it’s hard to find a proper diagnosis for Sylvia Plath, it is almost definite that she at least had clinical depression with her numerous suicide attempts and stays in mental hospitals undergoing electroshock therapy. Sylvia Plath is now famously known for her writing and the more tragic parts of her life. Such as the separation from her husband, Ted Hughes, mental illness, etc… Plath may not have intended for her life and art to become inspiration to many people but that has become the end result. Sylvia Plath writing shows symptoms of her suicidal thoughts. To study specific moments in Sylvia Plath’s life, it can be connected to certain writing’s of her’s, such as “Daddy”, The Bell Jar, and “Lady Lazarus”.

In a critical analysis of the tales of Persephone and Susie Salmon, an account of what is to come when a maiden is stolen away from her family and into the underworld is uncovered. As they face their own extinction in the Hell that is their captors Heaven, a counteractive force is exerted by their parents who are thriving for redemption but will instead be fed by integral peace. An archetypal reading of the Rape of Persephone and The Lovely Bones reveals the value of acceptance of loss in creating a peaceful existence for the living and their familial wellbeing. The myth and the modernized story reveal the ideology that one must preserve peace in a time of turmoil in order to keep order within the world.

Initially, Benton’s brush strokes dictate the movement of the piece, shaping the foliage around Persephone in a nurturing and purposeful manner. I think this pulls Persephone towards the viewer and draws more attention to her exposure and vulnerability. It also symbolizes Demeter’s protective nature and deep-seeded love for her daughter. It feels as though the movement of the plant life also creates a barrier of protection between the aloof and defenseless Persephone and the wrinkled and perverted Hades. I believe this determines the importance of protecting the young and naive, especially with an abundance of attention in this world leading to desensitivity, and later sexualization. This reminds me of a speech Emma Watson made to the United Nations where she details how the media began to sexualize her as early as

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

    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.

One of Lawrence’s favorite myths is that of Persephone, Demeter, and Dis. In some of Lawrence’s stories involving this famous Greek myth, the main characters reflect, or even channel the characters and events from the ancient myth itself, frequently giving the story a strange dark depth and a ritualistic feel—as if the modern characters themselves are unconsciously playing out ancient archetypes within their own psyches. Persephone is daughter of Demeter (god of agriculture) Oone day she is gathering flowers. Pluto (underworld) abducts her, keeping her from her mother. Her mother then

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

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

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

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