Poetry - Colossus Flashcards
“Pieced glued, and properly jointed.”
The list of three conjures an image of trying to fix something that has shattered e.g. a statute.
Metaphorically trying to mend a relationship with her father
“I am none the wiser.”
The end-stopped sentence emphasises a defeated tone. Again, we’re left wondering what the relationship is between the statue and the speaker.
“I crawl like an ant in mourning”
The simile emphasises how small and insignificant she feels compared to the statue.
The choice of the verb ‘mourning’ suggests grief and loss. Is this Plath grieving the loss of her father?
“A blue sky out of the Oresteia”
The allusion to Oresteia, a collection of Greek tragedies by Aeschylus depicts one of the characters (named Elektra) mourning her dead father Agamemnon. Plath’s father?
“My hours are married to shadow.”
This metaphor gives us an image of time crawling in agony.
Even when the sun is rising, the speaker is still consumed by darkness. Could this be a reference to the overwhelming grief of losing her father?
“Nights, I squat in the cornucopia”
Symbol of thriving life in a poem focused on ruin and death. Possible reference to her still having sustenance from the memory of her father?
What does the structure tell us?
It’s haunting images come in fairly conversational free verse.
Each stanza is the same length, showing the speaker is trying to tidy and piece together the ruins around her.
Plath uses a full stop in the middle of line 17, creating a caesura. Pause right before “O father” emphasises what the statue is but also the feelings of sadness and grief.
