Sylvia Plath
Mad Girl's Love Song
Mad Girl's Love Song
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)"
Poem Explication
When Plath says, "The stars go waltzing out in blue and red" the "stars" symbolize something beautiful in her life. "Waltzing out in blue and red" symbolizes the beautiful things leaving whether they are sad or loving. The line, "arbitrary blackness gallops in" is saying you judge how much darkness you let into your world.
Plath writes, "I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed" she is saying that she is being forced into something she doesn't want. The line, "And sung me moon-struck" is showing that she wasn't in control of her own actions.
"God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade" tells that everything good and evil is slowly leaving her life. The line, "Exit seraphim and Satan's men" symbolizes that everything is gone. Plath says, "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead" she is saying that for her, there is no good and no evil so she has nothing left to live for.
The poet writes, "I fancied you'd return the way you said" she is waiting and imaging that the good in her life will come back to her. The line, "But I grow old and I forget your name" is showing that she soon learned to forget something that was never there for her. "I think I made you up inside my head" is the poet saying that she was hoping for someone that she never had, she only imagined.
"I should have love a thunderbird instead" states that she wished she loved someone who was strong, loved her back, and always was there for her instead of imagining someone who could be like that. Plath writes, "At least when spring comes they roar back again" is symbolizing that someone will always come back for her.
In conclusion, the poem is saying that you shouldn't make up something wonderful in life that won't stay or you can't have. In the end, all that matters is the people who love you. Always enjoy what you have in life rather than what you don't.
Poet Research
The line, "arbitrary blackness gallops in" reflects the time in Plath's life when depression came upon her. "I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed" is reflecting on her tough relationship with her husband and how he may have forced her into things she didn't want. The line, "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead" reflects on how she committed suicide and died.
In conclusion, Sylvia Plath's works reflect greatly on her life. Her depression caused much of her poetry to be depressing. Plath's struggling marriage affected a few of her poems and lines in certain poems. Her many attempts at suicide created many of her poems to be about death and dying.
Black horse
Fire fading
Thunderbird
My Tulip Friend
an abandoned path
on a dark and gloomy day.
When a tulip,
yellow as the sun,
stops me with a little yelp.
"You look like
you need a friend."
It exclaimed.
I knew this couldn't
be true.
A tulip speaking
to me.
I quick look away,
avoiding it.
Anyways, a tulip is
a jewel: dazzling and
wanting attention.
But when I turn
back to the tulip,
it is gone.
The only friend I
could have ever had,
disappeared in front
of my eyes.
Was it really there?
Or have I become
so lonely that
I can only see the
things I want.