glory from others The moon looks sad with its O-mouth but the rival is careless and without feelings This shows that the rival is both attractive and destructive at the same time The Rival Makes Life Empty and Lifeless In the second stanza the speaker says that the rival s first gift is making stone out of everything It means the rival s presence makes life hard and empty The speaker feels like waking up in a tomb This image shows lifelessness and emptiness The rival sits tapping on a marble table and looking for cigarettes He seems spiteful and ready to say something cruel that cannot be answered This shows the rival s power to hurt the speaker deeply A Toxic and Suffocating Influence The rival s complaints and dissatisfaction arrive through the mailslot with loving regularity These letters look harmless white and blank but they are compared to carbon monoxide a deadly gas that kills silently This image shows how the rival s words and presence are toxic invisible and suffocating The Rival Is Always Present In the last stanza the speaker admits that no day is safe from the rival s influence She says No day is safe from news of you Even if the rival is far away on a different continent like Africa he still affects the speaker s life The rival s presence is inescapable The speaker feels haunted by the rival s memory and influence everywhere Form Meter Rhyme Scheme The Rival has stanzas and lines The first three stanzas have five lines each and the last stanza has only two The poem is written in free verse which means there is no fixed rhyme scheme or meter This free form matches the emotional flow of the speaker s feelings It feels like a direct conversation This makes the emotions sound natural and raw Use of Imagery and Literary Devices Plath uses powerful imagery to express jealousy anger and suffocation For example I wake to a mausoleum tomb creates a picture of lifelessness The comparison of complaint letters to carbon monoxide shows how the rival s influence is poisonous but invisible Plath also uses metaphor He compares the rival to the moon beautiful but destructive She uses personification when she says the moon grieves with its O-mouth Language and Tone The language of the poem is simple but sharp It is full of bitterness and pain The tone is resentful sad and unfriendly The speaker does not hide her anger and jealousy She openly shows her wounded feelings and the suffocating effect of the rival In conclusion The Rival is a powerful poem about jealousy and rivalry Sylvia Plath compares her rival to the moon beautiful but cold and destructive The rival makes life empty toxic and suffocating No matter where the rival goes the speaker cannot escape his influence With her confessional style rich imagery and bitter tone Plath gives us a poem that speaks honestly about the painful reality of rivalry in relationships