In literature, authors have often been inspired by Greek mythology, like the myth of Persephone. While picking flowers, the attractive Greek goddess Persephone was abducted and raped by Hades, the God of the underworld. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, frantically searching to retrieve her daughter, who was held captive in the underworld, forbade the earth to produce, so nothing was growing on its surface during that time. Zeus finally put an end to this quarrel by obliging Persephone to stay for one third of the year with her new husband, since she ate the food of the dead. She would spend the rest of the year in the upper world. When she’s the queen of the underworld, the earth becomes barren; it’s winter. The rest of the time, she’s the goddess …show more content…
In this poem, the opposite lifestyles of two sisters are uncovered. The first one is working; she calculates sums on her machine. The other sister becomes a mother to be. With diction, the reader perceives the life of the first woman as a dark and sad one, which is the opposite of the bright and happy life of the second woman. Words such as “shade” and “dark wainscoted room,” (Plath 1) describe the shady atmosphere surrounding the first lady and even details her appearance as “root-pale.” (Plath 1) Opposite words such as “bright,” “sun,” and “gold,” (Plath 1) are employed to characterize the second sister; therefore, emphasizing on the contrast of their lifestyles. Plath writes: “Daylong a duet of shade and light plays between these.” (Plath 1) This quote sums up the feeling one gets while reading. This duality between light and shade is alive throughout the poem and is a clear reference to Persephone. Indeed, this Greek goddess had two sides. For a third of the year she was the queen of shades and the dead and after that, she was the goddess of vegetation and life. So, a part of her is darkness and evil, whereas the other part is light and life, which is exactly the two sisters’ case. Plath used this allusion to show how a workingwoman was perceived compared to a mother to be. The one who works is frowned upon by society, …show more content…
In addition to the light and darkness duality associated to each sister’s lifestyles, there is also the one between infertility and fertility. The first sister is perceived by the reader as being infertile because of the diction used such as: “dry,” “barren,” “wry virgin,” “flesh laid waste,” and “worm-husbanded.” (Plath 1) The second sister is described with diction referring to fertility: “bride,” “grows quick with seed,” “labor’s pride,” and “bears a king.” (Plath 1) The contrast between fertility and barrenness is a direct reference to Persephone’s story, since the earth is fruitful when Persephone is in the upper world and is barren when she’s not. Again, Plath used this allusion to Persephone to demonstrate how these women were perceived. The pregnant woman is well seen by society just as the fruitful Persephone is, since they achieve their role as women, which is to procreate. The one who works, like the goddess of the shade, is not well perceived by society because she’s described as barren and “yet no woman.” (Plath 1) Thus, with the diction and the allusion, Plath wants to denounce the fact that women who work are frowned upon by society because it believes she’s not a woman anymore, since she can’t correctly fulfill the role of a woman, which is to have
Demeter the daughter of Cronus and Rhea was the goddess of harvest and fertility. The poet, Edith Hamilton, reveals the sorrow of a mother who has lost a child in the mythical "Demeter." The speaker laments on the consequences the natural cycles will receive due to this suffering Demeter is experiencing. Edith uses imagery of dry land and loss to express the agony a mother endures when losing a child. Furthermore, the speaker uses allusion to explain the consequences the society is suffering.
Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus can be argued that it is related loosely to Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth. This comparative and contrasting characteristics that can be seen within both plays make the reader/audience more aware of imagery, the major characters, plot, attitudes towards women, and themes that are presented from two very different standpoints. The authors Sophocles and Dove both have a specific goal in mind when writing the two plays. In this paper I will take a closer look of the two, comparing and contrasting the plays with the various elements mentioned previously.
Two of the most popular poets of the 19th and 20th centuries are Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, respectively. These women were born nearly one hundred years apart, but their writing is strikingly similar, especially through the use of the speaker. In fact, in Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy”, she writes about her father and compares him to domineering figures, such as Adolf Hitler, a teacher, and a vampire; and in Emily Dickinson’s poem “She dealt her pretty words like blades—“, she talks about bullies and how they affect a person’s life—another domineering figure. Despite being born in different centuries, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath are parallel in a multitude of ways, such as their choice in story, their choice for themes, and their choice of and as a narrator.
Plath’s difficulties with narrative prose contrasts between her novelistic dreams and her character. Plath’s passion for classic novelists and her own talent made her realize the fitting narrative prose were densely constructed (Hughes 1). Plath’s poetry goes through constant changes (Smith 2). The bee was a motif that was often used (Smith 3).Jerome Mazzaro considers Plath’s achievements in The Bell Jar to be less gendered. Mazzaro also believes Plath’s novel is a statement of fascination of the midcentury (“The Importance…” 2). Marilyn Yalom wrote in Maternity, Morality, and the Literature of Madness that Plath’s novel about her breakdown and her recovery, The Bell Jar, is a pre-feminist disclosure of the effects of the sexist culture. Yalom’s critical view increased from the feminist and psychoanalytic critic of the 1980s (“The Importance…” 1). Plath’s lyricism ranges from simple but effective to a Hopkinsian ode for her beloved (Magill 2223). Her best ability was turning everyday experiences into diary entries (Magill 2225). Plath’s poems from Ariel reflect her fury and sullenness toward life (Draper 2734).
The settings are the Grey Sisters Place, some place with Athena, island of the Gorgons, Into the air, and Atlas’s island. The settings are different because it has more than Perseus. The events are that Perseus was sent off the quest, He then gets a lot of gifts after that he goes to see the Grey sisters and steals their eye then goes to see Atlas she gives him the hat of darkness. After that goes to Medusa’s cave and he cuts off Medusa’s head, he escapes Medusa's sisters. The event is different because he has a lot of things to do before going and killing medusa and in the poem Perseus he just got a shield and cut her head.
Atsma, Aaron J. "Perseus." PERSEUS : Hero ; Greek mythology ; pictures. 2000-2011. 26 Feb. 2014 .
In the 1930s, who would have perpetrated violent acts against women in the name of sexual gratification yet still hold expectations that women take care of them? By making men in general the placeholder for “you” in the poem, it creates a much stronger and universal statement about the sexual inequality women face. She relates to women who have had “a god for [a] guest” yet it seems ironic because she is criticising the way these women have been treated (10). It could be argued, instead, that it is not that she sees men as gods, but that it is the way they see themselves. Zeus was a god who ruled Olympus and felt entitled to any woman he wanted, immortal or otherwise.
Briefly speaking, the Hymn to Demeter is similar in playing out the theme of separation and isolation by depicting Persephone picking flowers in and isolated space. In Ovid's version, the empowerment of women plays an important role by the story being told by a woman, Venus being the mastermind, and Ceres being a strong confident woman and taking swift action. Also, the roles of the gods are switched with the nymphs, and the symbolist use of the environment is seen in the abduction of Proserpine.
In The Odyssey and Hymn to Demeter, both Penelope and Demeter love and miss their family members. When Demeter hears her daughter Persephone’s cry, “a sharp grief took hold of Demeter in
In the Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, there are many themes that serve to make a comment about the meanings of the story. The theme of women in the poem serves to make these comments but also establishes a point of view on women in the reader. From this point of view, a perspective is developed into the "best" and "worst" in women. Achievement of this is through the characterization of many women with single notable evil qualities. Similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve like the many women in the Odyssey brings about pain and suffering for mankind. Contrary to the depicting of women as roots of evil, the reader sees the other traits of women that are most desirable. The roles of these women are achieved by their portrayal throughout the poem. This in return has a significant affect on how the poem and the message that is conveyed.
In The Penelopiad written by Margaret Atwood, feminism and anti - feminism is present in many settings and scenes proving the sole purpose of the book is to give a voice to the women of The Odyssey showing us different facets of one story. By repeating words and phrases that give the reader negative connotations, Margaret Atwood helps to destroy the predisposed ideology of men being superior to women. Margaret Atwood narrates the book as different female characters that relate instances during which they are discriminated against. By using the maids of Odysseus as examples of dehumanized women, the reader gets to see different perspectives of the original Illiad story. By having the whole story be about Penelope’s adventures while Odysseus was away shows the reader the independence and courage she possessed whereas in the beginning of The Penelopiad when she was reliant on her kingdom. The usage of words like cold blood to describe a murderer, slave to describe a human being, and blame repeatedly to describe an act shows the reader of the torture women in this time period had to suffer through.
McCann, Janet. “Sylvia Plath.” Magill’s Survey of American Literature. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 5. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1991. 1626-39. Print.
Women’s lives are represented by the roles they either choose or have imposed on them. This is evident in the play Medea by Euripides through the characters of Medea and the nurse. During the time period which Medea is set women have very limited social power and no political power at all, although a women’s maternal and domestic power was respected in the privacy of the home, “Our lives depend on how his lordship feels”. The limited power these women were given is different to modern society yet roles are still imposed on women to conform and be a dutiful wife.
“In “The Colossus,” a “Blue sky out of the Oresteia/Arches above” father and daughter, an image which suggests that Plath is consciously harnessing for poetic inspiration the energies of her own family’s dynamics, the love and violence implied by the reference to the house of Agamemnon. The poem need not be read autobiographically, but in its distortions, its simultaneous worship of and contempt for the magnificent ruin, it mirrors what Plath typically reported feeling towards her father.” (421)
To her, the child’s eye is the storage of beauty, and he wish is to be at the same place as beauty. Beauty and happiness is compared to childhood mother’s inability to do much for her child. This gives us the aspect of how she lacked happiness in her life and also lacked to see any positive outcomes. This was one of the last poems that Plath wrote before her death.