plath is perfection, as always.

the sequence at the very end is a beautifully written and poignant reflection on her first suicide attempt and how symbolic it became for her. 

the shadow of grief, of her father, fathomless and in black, marrying her to shadow, of the disquieting muses that surrounded her from birth, of the mother of otherness, is ever present within this poetry collection, but so too is hope, rebirth, light, and love. 

in that aspect, it is very much ariel’s older sister: wise and experienced, ready to console. 

it was interesting to compare the voice of ‘the colossus’ to the voice plath employs in ‘ariel’, as they are so distinct, but bloom from each other still; a natural metamorphosis. 

in addition, i found this volume to be much more akin to lowell’s ‘life studies’ and traditionally confessional in style than ‘ariel’, and so that helped me to see what it is that makes a poem plathian, that distinguishes her. it is that juxtaposition between winter and the spring to come, i think.