Ariel

Read 'Ariel' by 'Sylvia Plath' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

Stasis in darkness.
Then the substanceless blue
Pour of tor and distances.

God's lioness,
How one we grow,
Pivot of heels and knees! ---The furrow

Splits and passes, sister to
The brown arc
Of the neck I cannot catch,

Nigger-eye
Berries cast dark
Hooks ---

Black sweet blood mouthfuls,
Shadows.
Something else

Hauls me through air ---
Thighs, hair;
Flakes from my heels.

White
Godiva, I unpeel ---
Dead hands, dead stringencies.

And now I
Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas.
The child's cry

Melts in the wall.
And I
Am the arrow,

The dew that flies,
Suicidal, at one with the drive
Into the red

Eye, the cauldron of morning.

Form: Free verse Comments

Comments About This Poem

Share your interpretation, favorite passage, or thoughts about this famous poem. Please provide an in-depth and meaningful comment.

  • What do you think the poet was trying to say?
  • Which line had the biggest impact on you?
  • How does this poem relate to modern life?
  • What literary devices did you notice?
Poet Avatar
September 25, 2026 at 3:50 AM
"Ariel" by Sylvia Plath is a vivid and intense poem that captures a transformative experience with bold imagery and emotional depth. The poem begins with a sense of stillness in darkness, which shifts swiftly into dynamic motion, symbolized by "God's lioness." The language is rich and evocative, with phrases like "the substanceless blue" and "Black sweet blood mouthfuls," capturing a sense of otherworldly beauty and underlying violence. The poem's structure mirrors the journey it describes, moving from stasis to an exhilarating rush of motion and liberation. Plath uses powerful metaphors, such as transforming into an arrow and becoming one with the drive, which allude to themes of freedom, destruction, and rebirth. The imagery of color and the elements—darkness, blood, air, and sea—enhance the emotional intensity and suggest a metamorphosis.
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace