What are the different stages of the journey in the poem “Crossing the Water?”
What are the different stages of the journey in the poem Crossing the Water NU nbsp Or Describe the different stages of the journey in Crossing the Water NU Sylvia Plath s - poem Crossing the Water was written likely between and The poem shows a boat journey that is both real and symbolic On the surface it is about two people crossing a dark lake In a deeper sense the journey is about going through different feelings of sadness false hope and fear We will describe the different stages of the journey below Stage One Darkness The poem opens with the line Black lake black boat two black cut-paper people Here everything is dark The lake the boat and even the travelers look lifeless like cut-paper This stage shows the beginning of the journey which feels shadowy and full of fear The trees and their shadows seem endless The
shadows cover Canada Stage Two A Hint of Light In the next stage some light appears through the water flowers nbsp A little light is filtering from the water flowers The flowers tell the travelers not to hurry This stage gives a tiny hope but the advice of the flowers is not comforting Their dark advice suggests warning and mystery Stage Three Danger and Fear As the boat moves the oar shakes the cold water A dead tree branch lifts a pale hand like a farewell This stage shows loneliness and fear of death At last stars shine among the lilies But the lilies are compared to expressionless sirens In Greek myth sirens look beautiful but they lure sailors into the sea to be drowned So the journey ends in a world of danger and silence In short the journey in Crossing the Water moves from total darkness to false light and to fear and silence The boat journey seems to be a journey into the speaker s mind where we find sadness fear and silence nbsp