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The Full Text of “Ariel”
The Full Text of “Ariel”
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“Ariel” Introduction
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“Ariel” Summary
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“Ariel” Themes
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Liberation and Transcendence
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-31
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Ariel”
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Lines 1-3
Stasis in darkness. ...
... tor and distances. -
Lines 4-6
God’s lioness, ...
... heels and knees!— -
Lines 6-9
The furrow ...
... I cannot catch, -
Lines 10-14
Nigger-eye ...
... Shadows. -
Lines 15-18
Something else ...
... from my heels. -
Lines 19-21
White ...
... hands, dead stringencies. -
Lines 22-25
And now I ...
... in the wall. -
Lines 26-31
And I ...
... cauldron of morning.
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“Ariel” Symbols
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The Horse
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 4: “God’s lioness”
- Line 5: “How one we grow,”
- Lines 8-9: “The brown arc / Of the neck”
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Darkness and Light
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Stasis in darkness.”
- Lines 10-14: “Nigger-eye / Berries cast dark / Hooks— / Black sweet blood mouthfuls, / Shadows”
- Lines 19-20: “White / Godiva”
- Lines 30-31: “the red / Eye, the cauldron of morning”
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“Ariel” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 4: “God’s lioness”
- Lines 19-20: “White / Godiva, I unpeel—”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Pour,” “tor”
- Line 6: “heels,” “knees”
- Line 7: “Splits,” “sister”
- Line 9: “cannot,” “catch”
- Line 13: “Black”
- Line 14: “Shadows”
- Line 19: “White”
- Line 20: “Godiva,” “I”
- Line 22: “I”
- Line 23: “wheat,” “seas”
- Line 24: “child’s,” “cry”
- Line 26: “I”
- Line 28: “dew,” “flies”
- Line 29: “Suicidal,” “drive”
- Line 31: “Eye”
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Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Lines 5-6: “How one we grow, / Pivot of heels and knees!”
- Lines 9-11: “I cannot catch, / Nigger-eye / Berries”
- Lines 13-14: “blood mouthfuls, / Shadows”
- Lines 17-18: “Thighs, hair; / Flakes”
- Line 21: “Dead hands, dead stringencies”
- Line 23: “Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas”
- Lines 27-28: “the arrow, / The dew”
- Lines 30-31: “the red / Eye, the cauldron”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “substanceless,” “blue”
- Line 5: “How,” “we,” “grow”
- Line 7: “Splits,” “passes,” “sister”
- Line 8: “arc”
- Line 9: “neck,” “cannot,” “catch”
- Line 10: “Nigger-eye”
- Line 11: “Berries,” “cast,” “dark”
- Line 12: “Hooks”
- Line 13: “Black,” “blood”
- Line 14: “Shadows”
- Line 16: “Hauls”
- Line 18: “Flakes,” “heels”
- Line 21: “Dead,” “hands,” “dead”
- Line 23: “wheat,” “glitter”
- Line 25: “Melts,” “wall”
- Line 29: “drive”
- Line 30: “red”
- Line 31: “cauldron,” “morning”
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End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 1: “darkness.”
- Line 3: “distances.”
- Line 4: “lioness,”
- Line 5: “grow,”
- Line 9: “catch,”
- Line 12: “Hooks—”
- Line 13: “mouthfuls,”
- Line 14: “Shadows.”
- Line 16: “air—”
- Line 17: “hair;”
- Line 18: “heels.”
- Line 20: “unpeel—”
- Line 21: “stringencies.”
- Line 23: “seas.”
- Line 25: “wall.”
- Line 27: “arrow,”
- Line 31: “morning.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “blue / Pour”
- Lines 6-7: “furrow / Splits”
- Lines 7-8: “to / The”
- Lines 8-9: “arc / Of”
- Lines 10-11: “Nigger-eye / Berries”
- Lines 11-12: “dark / Hooks”
- Lines 15-16: “else / Hauls”
- Lines 19-20: “White / Godiva”
- Lines 22-23: “I / Foam”
- Lines 24-25: “cry / Melts”
- Lines 26-27: “I / Am”
- Lines 28-29: “flies / Suicidal”
- Lines 29-30: “drive / Into”
- Lines 30-31: “red / Eye”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3
- Line 6
- Lines 6-9
- Lines 10-14
- Lines 17-18
- Lines 20-21
- Lines 22-23
- Lines 24-25
- Lines 27-28
- Lines 29-31
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “the substanceless blue / Pour of tor and distances”
- Line 4: “God’s lioness”
- Line 5: “one we grow”
- Lines 7-8: “sister to / The brown arc”
- Lines 10-14: “Nigger-eye / Berries cast dark / Hooks— / Black sweet blood mouthfuls, / Shadows.”
- Lines 19-21: “White / Godiva, I unpeel— / Dead hands, dead stringencies”
- Lines 22-23: “I / Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas”
- Lines 24-25: “The child’s cry / Melts in the wall”
- Lines 26-29: “I / Am the arrow, / The dew that flies / Suicidal”
- Lines 29-31: “the drive / Into the red / Eye, the cauldron of morning”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “dark”
- Line 5: “one”
- Line 6: “heels”
- Line 10: “eye”
- Line 11: “dark”
- Line 18: “heels”
- Line 21: “Dead,” “dead”
- Line 29: “one”
- Line 31: “Eye”
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“Ariel” 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.
- Stasis
- Substanceless
- Tor
- Furrow
- Nigger-eye
- Godiva
- Unpeel
- Stringencies
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “Stasis in darkness.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Ariel”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Ariel” Speaker
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“Ariel” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Ariel”
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More “Ariel” Resources
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External Resources
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The Life and Legend of Lady Godiva — Learn more about Lady Godiva, whose mythology "Ariel" references.
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Sylvia Plath Reads "Ariel" — Listen to the author read the poem aloud.
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The Life (and Afterlives) of Sylvia Plath — Read a detailed overview of the Plath's life, including a discussion of her career and legacy.
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Plath's Manuscript — Take a look at Plath's manuscript of "Ariel," which she gave to her friend and editor Al Alvarez.
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Plath On Air — Listen to a 1962 interview with the author from the British Council.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Sylvia Plath
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