Sylvias Use of Senses in Ariel :: English Literature Essays

Sylvias Use of Senses in ArielAriel possesses power and importance, a certain element of orgasmic underscore to the degree to which the horseback ride Plath once took becomes something morea ride into the abyss of the unknown, a stare back into the eye of the sun, an odyssey to death, a stripping of temperament and selfhood, a sort of blatant exposition. To treat Ariel as a confessional poem is to suggest that its actual importance lies in the horse- ride taken by its author, in the authors psychological problems, or in its position within the biographical development of the author. None of these issues is as significant as the imagistic and thematic developments rendered by the poem itself. belike the finest single construction of Plath, Ariel has articulate precision and depth of its run intos. In its account of the ritual journey toward the center of life and death, Plath perfects her method of leaping from image to image in order to represent mental outgrowth. The sensuousn ess and concreteness of the poemthe Black sweet blood mouthfuls of the berries the glitter of seasis unmatched in contemporary American poetry. We see, hear, touch, and taste the process of disintegration the horse emerging from the darkness of the morning, the sun beginning to rise as Ariel rushes uncontrollably across the countryside, the rider trying to catch the brown sleep with but instead tasting the blackberries on the side of the road. Then all the riders perceptions are thrown together the horses body and the riders merge. She hears her own cry as if it were that of a child and flies toward the burning sun that has now risen. To a reader who is unaware of Plaths biography ARIEL would probably most immediately call to intellect the airy spirit who in Shakespeares The Tempest is a servant to Prospero and symbolizes Prosperos control of the upper elements of the universe, fire and air. And seen from a more intimate level, ARIEL was the learn of her favorite horse, on whom s he weekly went riding.The two reflections about the name ARIEL have often been noticed and pointed out, with the emphasis, from a critical perspective, being placed on the biographical referent.But there is another possible referent in the title of the poem, which no one has yet noted, although the poet, apparently, went out of her way to make reference, even apparent reference, to it.