Sara's Reviews > Ariel

This was very up and down. A lot of the poems went right over my head, but a few I enjoyed, including Lady Lazarus, The Rival and The Moon and the Yew Tree. Of them all, I think Lady Lazarus had the most ‘pull’ in that it’s quite deeply emotive in its portrayal of wanting to be dead and the mixture of emotions that comes with this. It was very personal, and there’s no doubt Sylvia Plath has a way with words. For that poem alone, I pulled this up to three stars.

I’m just not sure that for the most part, Plath’s words are my kind of words. I’m not a big poem fan, and felt next to no connection with any of the other poems. In particular, I think I struggle with writing that’s far removed from the literal. Metaphors, similes, they all make me glaze over a bit and these poems are rife with them. Many around the subject of dying and death (understandable given Plath’s history).

I really need to find me some poems that are more straight-to-the-point and less fiddly.