“Plaits” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Plaits”

“Plaits” Summary

“Plaits” Themes

• 

  Cooperation, Collaboration, and Equality

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-15

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Plaits”

• Lines 1-6

  I had two ...
  ... thin trickling river

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 7-12

  but they were ...
  ... and thick muscle

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 13-15

  a lesson that ...
  ... it was distributed.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“Plaits” Symbols

• 

  The Plaits

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-3: “I had two plaits; one thick / an anaconda plait and the other / more like a thin grass snake.”
  • Line 7: “but they were companionably joined”
  • Lines 10-12: “The weak and the strong / were strong together, the raised segments / of hair a wide and thick muscle”
  • Line 13: “a lesson that hung down my back”

“Plaits” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-6: “I had two plaits; one thick / an anaconda plait and the other / more like a thin grass snake. / My parting was on one side / a harvest, a rich waterfall / and a thin trickling river”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “an anaconda plait”
  • Lines 2-3: “the other / more like a thin grass snake”
  • Lines 4-6: “My parting was on one side / a harvest, a rich waterfall / and a thin trickling river”
  • Lines 11-12: “the raised segments / of hair a wide and thick muscle”

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “thin”
  • Line 5: “a harvest, a rich waterfall”
  • Line 6: “thin”
  • Line 8: “wide”
  • Line 10: “strong”
  • Line 11: “strong”
  • Line 12: “a wide and thick muscle”
  • Line 13: “a lesson”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “plait”
  • Line 3: “snake”
  • Line 6: “thin trickling river”
  • Line 8: “tied,” “wide”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-3: “other / more”
  • Lines 8-9: “ribbon / whose”
  • Lines 10-11: “strong / were”
  • Lines 11-12: “segments / of”

“Plaits” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Plaits
• Anaconda
• Companionably
• Distributed

• (Location in poem: Line 1: “I had two plaits”; Line 2: “an anaconda plait”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Plaits”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Plaits” Speaker

“Plaits” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Plaits”

More “Plaits” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Smither's work via Poetry New Zealand.

  • An Interview with Smither — Read an interview with Smither from the Academy of New Zealand Literature.

  • More of Smither's Work — Listen to Smither reading some of her poems aloud.

  • Smither on Her Favorite Writers — Watch a short video interview with Smither in which she discusses some of her favorite writers.