The colosus Flashcards
Who wrote the colossus
Sylvia plath
When was the colossus published and in what collection
wrote 1959, published 1960 in the the colossus
What are the themes in the colossus
mourning, Loss
What is the tone in colossus
Sharp, angry tones creating irony of defiance
What is the form and structure of the colossus
- confessional poem
- containing direct address to father
- dramatic monologue
- Written in cinquains with free verse but has tidy appearance mimicking statue
quick overview of the colossus
‘The Colossus’ by Sylvia Plath explores the poet’s relationship with her father. Through original imagery, her father is depicted as a fallen statue and her as his keeper.
Shes trying to fix the statue
context of the colossus
- The Colossus of Rhodes a is 100-115 feet tall statue that depicts Helios, the Greek sun god. The statue existed for fifty-four years and was destroyed in an earthquake in 224 BC.
- She wrote it while pregnant in 1959
- she moved back to london after 1959
Quick language techniques in the colossus
- Extended metaphor of statue for the shadow of her father following her
- Simile “like an ant” shows how plath feels small possibly belittled by her father and juxtaposition beside the statue.
Irony of the word ‘Great’
- Repeated word of ‘mouth’ symbolising she wants him to speak to her
- enjambent “Thirty years now i have laboured to dredge the silt from your throat”, silt being a lake suggesting he cant speak despite the years of asking for comfort or a sign of her father to acknowledge her, this alludes to their relationship where she barely knew her father
- “My hours are married to a shadow” shes spent years of her life dedicated to her father while he ignores her in return possibly alludes to her marriage
Critics
Alvarez - “the root of her suffering was the death of her father whom she loved, who abandoned her and who dragged her after him into death”
