Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Ariel" is a collection of poems by Sylvia Plath, an American poet and novelist, which was first published posthumously in 1965, one year after her death. The poems in the collection are deeply personal and explore themes of identity, power, and femininity, often with intense and vivid imagery.

Explanation:

The poems in "Ariel" are marked by their intense and often visceral imagery, as well as their focus on themes of identity, power, and femininity. Many of the poems in the collection explore the speaker's own struggles with mental illness and personal trauma, such as in the poem "Daddy" which addresses the speaker's fraught relationship with her father. Other poems in the collection, such as "Fever 103°" and "Ariel", are more abstract and explore themes of personal power and transformation through vivid and often surreal imagery. 

The poems in the collection make use of a range of poetic elements, including:

• Imagery: The poems in "Ariel" make use of intense and vivid imagery, such as the image of the "red-eye" in "Fever 103°" and the "black shoe" in "Daddy", to convey the emotional weight of the subject matter.
• Symbolism: The poems in the collection use symbolism to explore the themes of identity and personal power, such as the symbol of the "horse" in "Ariel" as a symbol of both power and freedom.
• Tone: The tone of the poems in "Ariel" varies from the raw and confessional to the surreal and dreamlike, inviting readers to consider the emotional and psychological complexities of the human experience.

Conclusion:

"Ariel" is a collection of deeply personal and evocative poems that explore themes of identity, power, and femininity. Through their use of intense and vivid imagery, symbolism, and varied tone, the poems in the collection invite readers to consider the emotional and psychological complexities of the human experience, and the ways in which personal trauma and mental illness can impact our sense of self and power. The collection is a testament to the enduring power of poetry to capture the raw and often painful truths of the human condition.

Poem Snippet:

And now I

Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas.

The child's cry

Melts in the wall.

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