Ariel by Sylvia Plath

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

• Written October 27, 1962, shortly before her death, and published posthumously in the collection Ariel in 1965.
• Despite it’s ambiguity, it is literally understood to describe an early morning horse-ride towards the rising sun.

Question 2

Form and Structure

Answer 2

Structure

• Composed of ten three-line stanzas with an additional single line at the end, and follows an unusual slanted rhyme scheme.
• There is a change in tone and break of the slanted rhyme scheme in the sixth stanza which marks a shift in the theme of the poem, from being literally an account of a horse ride, to more of a metaphoric experience of oneness with the horse and the act of riding itself.

Question 3

Language Techniques

Answer 3

• Alliteration

- Enjambment makes poem feel rushed.