Sylvia Plath, knowledgeable beyond her years, had many complications with her mental health as she grew up. This poem in particular was introduced to the public through a biographical introduction of her novel “The Bell Jar”. Through the villanelle structure, Mad Girl’s Love Song uses seemingly endless repetition, dark personification, and references to mythological creatures to touch base with the complications of the human mind, the toxicity of mental illnesses and disorders, and beyond everything: love. The entire poem is in quotation marks, implying that it is being spoken to someone, but the reader does not know for sure who the audience is. It can be assumed that, the speaker of the poem, which is believed to be Plath herself (due to
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When “the stars go waltzing out in blue and red” (4), it is perceived as a relatively happy and lighthearted situation; similar to how someone in love would feel. A waltz is a two person dance, and you can’t participate fully without a partner, similar to love. Stars bring light to a dark night, and bring beauty to a negative situation. However, this happiness does not last long as “arbitrary blackness gallops in” (5) shortly after. The darkness “galloping” gives an urgency to the darkness that consumes the stars. This darkness, can be pulled back to mental illnesses once again as it is commonly associated with depression. This darkness came and kicked the stars out, similar to how her depression replaced her happiness once the relationship …show more content…
The thunderbird is a mythical creature known in some Native American cultures that returns in the spring as it brings thunderstorms. They go away during the winter, as there is no need for them, but they always return, unlike someone the speaker is familiar with. Plath was so deeply hurt by this old lover and after a while, she realized that this non-existent bird will return before he does. Regardless if this relationship was real and he disappeared, or she’s struggling to grasp the concept she created a fictional relationship through schizophrenia, the confusion and blame destroys a person’s perception on themselves and can lead to
When “the stars go waltzing out in blue and red” (4), it is perceived as a relatively happy and lighthearted situation; similar to how someone in love would feel. A waltz is a two person dance, and you can’t participate fully without a partner, similar to love. Stars bring light to a dark night, and bring beauty to a negative situation. However, this happiness does not last long as “arbitrary blackness gallops in” (5) shortly after. The darkness “galloping” gives an urgency to the darkness that consumes the stars. This darkness, can be pulled back to mental illnesses once again as it is commonly associated with depression. This darkness came and kicked the stars out, similar to how her depression replaced her happiness once the relationship …show more content…
The thunderbird is a mythical creature known in some Native American cultures that returns in the spring as it brings thunderstorms. They go away during the winter, as there is no need for them, but they always return, unlike someone the speaker is familiar with. Plath was so deeply hurt by this old lover and after a while, she realized that this non-existent bird will return before he does. Regardless if this relationship was real and he disappeared, or she’s struggling to grasp the concept she created a fictional relationship through schizophrenia, the confusion and blame destroys a person’s perception on themselves and can lead to