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A poem by Sylvia Plath about her father, a giant statue of a man with a broken mouth and eyes. The speaker tries to repair and understand the colossus, but fails and is left with shadows and stars.
- Sylvia Plath
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- Sylvia Plath
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Similar Poems
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The statue, which is based on a real creation from Rhodes in 280 BC, is in ruins. The speaker is a caretaker of sorts. She tends to the statue, sometimes expressing irritation or exasperation with it and other times relishing in its presence. As the poem progresses it becomes clear that the poet is using this caretaker/deceased statue relationship ...
In ‘The Colossus’ Plath engages with themes that include suffering, death, and relationships. The relationship between the speaker and her father/the statue is incredibly important in the larger landscape of this poem. Everything, from the classical allusionsto the focus on death and loss, stems from that relationship. The father might be dead, but...
‘The Colossus’ by Sylvia Plath is a six-stanza poem that is separated into sets of five lines, known as quintains. These quintains do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern, meaning that the poem is written in free verse. But, despite its name, this does not mean that the poem is entirely without form. Poets use half-rhyme, as well ...
Plath uses several literary devices in ‘The Colossus’. These include but are not limited to examples of an extended metaphor, imagery, alliteration, and enjambment. The first of these, metaphor, is the most important technique at work in the poem. Generally, the image of the statue and its destruction is read as a metaphor for a woman grieving the ...
Stanza One
In the first lines of the poem, the speaker addresses “you,” the Colossus of Rhodes. She alludes to the statue’s destruction and the fact that never again will it be returned to the state it was in previously. The pieces are scattered and glue certainly won’t do the job. The speaker is very aware that she’s only caring for remnants. The imagery is so poignant in these first lines and becomes even more so as the metaphor slowly starts to reveal itself. Readers should also take note of the neol...
Stanza Two
The speaker continues to address the statue, posing a suggestion that the state considers itself an “oracle”. This is a curious suggestion and is followed by a related line accusing the statue of having delusions of grandeur. She knows it considers itself godlike and as above and beyond humankind in some way. But, this is immediately contrasted with the speaker’s depiction of her everyday job. She has to clean the statue, as it is unable to do it itself. This is far from a godlike existence,...
Stanza Three
The speaker also spends the third stanza in order to describe more about what her job is like. She is a hard worker. She moves up “little ladders” (alliteration) while carrying “pots and pails” (also alliteration). The rhythm in this line mimics the day-in and day-out nature of her work. She does the same thing over and over again. She uses a simile in the second line to compare herself to an “ant”. She’s quite small in comparisonto the statue. Even though it’s in pieces, it is still quite la...
This poem, which focuses so emotionally on Plath’s relationship with her father is one of a kind. But, there are other poems that address father/daughter and father/son relationships in different, but still important, ways. For example, ‘My Father Would Not Show Us’ by Ingrid de Kok, ‘Elegy for My Father’s Father’ by James K. Baxter, and Plath’s ow...
Learn about the poem 'The Colossus' by Sylvia Plath, a complex and moving work that explores the poet's relationship with her father. The poem uses the image of a fallen statue to express the speaker's grief, anger, and love for her deceased father.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
A poem about the speaker's relationship with her dead father, symbolized by the Colossus of Rhodes. The poem explores themes of grief, guilt, and the shadow of the past, using classical allusions and imagery.
A modernist poem that explores grief, memory, and the futility of reconstructing a lost father figure. Learn about the poem's meaning, structure, imagery, themes, and poetic devices with examples and a study guide.
Sylvia Plath. Track 9 on The Colossus and Other Poems. First published in Colossus and Other Poems in 1960, the speaker of this poem visits [The Colossus of Rhodes], ( and laments over it,...
The Colossus and Other Poems is a poetry collection by American poet Sylvia Plath, first published by Heinemann, in 1960. It is the only volume of poetry by Plath that was published before her death in 1963.
5 de set. de 2023 · Learn about the symbolism and themes of Sylvia Plath's poem The Colossus, which explores her relationship with her father and his legacy. The poem compares her father to a broken statue and an ancient mythological figure, and expresses her contempt and grief.
