"The Colossus" by Sylvia Plath

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the overall theme of "The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath" seems to be rebellion by the author against the world, against her life; there are death and dying images throughout the book. The author points out that Plath has many believable voices in these poems, which is one of the strengths of the book; because of the depth of her intellect and her skill at manipulating imagery, readers are brought into her consciousness, and there is nothing to do but believe her. The paper relates that it doesn't appear that these poems all have relevance to each other, but they were written at about the same time, so, for the poet, there is a unifying theme, a window of time in her life.

Table of Contents
Thesis
What Reaction Did I Have after Reading the Book?
Why Did I React That Way?
How Did I Feel about "The Colossus"?
Was There an Overall Theme to the Book of Poems?
What Kind of Voice Does the Poet have?
Was the Voice Believable?
What are Underlying Themes of the Book?
Are there Secondary Themes?
Were the Poems Unified by the Fact That They All Appeared in this Book?

From the Paper:

"Are there secondary themes? Some of the poems feature shadows and echoes, and mirrors - but it also seems a secondary theme is her father, and his memory and legacy in terms of her life and times. An interesting theme in "Frog Autumn" is the passing of summer into fall, with the advent of "scant, skinny" insects and even the spider "drops" from the effect of the frost. This poem could be a metaphor for getting old, "thin Lamentably." And "The Burnt-Out Spa" is laden with insects again, crickets this time, and the "little weeds" are "soft suede tongues between his bones." In "I Want, I Want," the "wasp, wolf and shark" (all potentially dangerous to humans) are set to work, and there are barbs on the "crown of the gilded wire.""

More papers on "The Colossus" by Sylvia Plath:

• Poem Review # 129676 : "Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath"
• Essay # 90944 : "The Life of Sylvia Plath"
• Analytical Essay # 28194 : "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath"

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