Analysis of Sylvia Plath's Colossus
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Garvin
English 3, P.2
April 8, 2014
Detailed Analysis In the poem “Colossus” by Sylvia Plath, the late poet exemplifies the hole in her life due to her father’s early death with the elements of allusion, imagery, and the use of multiple analogies. These three rhetorical devices shape the overall emphasis of the poem. By creating a unique blend of these three rhetorical devices, Plath shows her readers just how dearly she needed a fatherly figure in her life. The most obvious example in Plath’s poem is the element of allusion. Through allusion is how the poet best shows the real meaning of the poem. The first is the allusion to the great power of the “Colossus”. This colossus can allude towards two things, the giant world wonder that stood on the island of Rhodes, and her one and only father. By alluding towards the Colossus of Rhodes she extenuates the power they both share. The Colossus of Rhodes was an original world wonder whose magnificence captivated many of its time; his presence could not possibly go unnoticed. In her poem she compares this power the Colossus of Rhodes had to the power her father had over her psyche and emotions. The magnificent presence the Colossus of Rhodes had towards the spectators that had the gift of witnessing it while it still stood is equal to the magnificent presence Sylvia Plath’s father has in her self esteem and issues even long after his death. Just how she compares the magnificence of both, she compares the impact the collapse had as well. The Colossus of Rhodes is equally famous for its collapse as it was for its magnificence. People of its time could not fathom how something so powerful had fallen just like that. Her father’s death can be compared to this collapse. When her father died he engraved a sense of loneliness and disparity into the soul and psyche of Sylvia Plath. Many historians attribute the death of her father as an eventual element of her bizarre suicide. The complementary rhetorical device
Garvin
English 3, P.2
April 8, 2014
Detailed Analysis In the poem “Colossus” by Sylvia Plath, the late poet exemplifies the hole in her life due to her father’s early death with the elements of allusion, imagery, and the use of multiple analogies. These three rhetorical devices shape the overall emphasis of the poem. By creating a unique blend of these three rhetorical devices, Plath shows her readers just how dearly she needed a fatherly figure in her life. The most obvious example in Plath’s poem is the element of allusion. Through allusion is how the poet best shows the real meaning of the poem. The first is the allusion to the great power of the “Colossus”. This colossus can allude towards two things, the giant world wonder that stood on the island of Rhodes, and her one and only father. By alluding towards the Colossus of Rhodes she extenuates the power they both share. The Colossus of Rhodes was an original world wonder whose magnificence captivated many of its time; his presence could not possibly go unnoticed. In her poem she compares this power the Colossus of Rhodes had to the power her father had over her psyche and emotions. The magnificent presence the Colossus of Rhodes had towards the spectators that had the gift of witnessing it while it still stood is equal to the magnificent presence Sylvia Plath’s father has in her self esteem and issues even long after his death. Just how she compares the magnificence of both, she compares the impact the collapse had as well. The Colossus of Rhodes is equally famous for its collapse as it was for its magnificence. People of its time could not fathom how something so powerful had fallen just like that. Her father’s death can be compared to this collapse. When her father died he engraved a sense of loneliness and disparity into the soul and psyche of Sylvia Plath. Many historians attribute the death of her father as an eventual element of her bizarre suicide. The complementary rhetorical device
Cited: "The Colossus - A Poem by Sylvia Plath - American Poems." The Colossus - A Poem by Sylvia Plath - American Poems. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. "The Colossus Analysis." Sylvia Plath : Summary Explanation Meaning Overview Essay Writing Critique Peer Review Literary Criticism Synopsis Online Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. " 'Colossus ' By Sylvia Plath." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. "On "The Colossus"" On "The Colossus" N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.