The Rival
Poetry
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Sylvia Plath
The Rival Full Poem
The Rival
By Sylvia Plath (1932 – 1963)
If the moon smiled, she would resemble you.
You leave the same impression
Of something beautiful, but annihilating.
Both of you are great light borrowers.
Her O-mouth grieves at the world; yours is unaffected,
And your first gift is making stone out of everything.
I wake to a mausoleum; you are here,
Ticking your fingers on the marble table, looking for ciga...
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The Rival Key Info
Key Facts
Title: The Rival
Poet: Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
Written Date: January 21, 1962
Publication Date: It was published in her posthumous collection, Ariel, in 1965
Style: Confessional Style, where poets share deeply personal emotions
Form: Free verse (no fixed structure or stanza length)
Meter and Rhyme Scheme: Irregular; no consistent metrical pattern; the poem has no...
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The Rival Summary
Summary
The Rival is Compared to the Moon, Beautiful but Destructive: The poem is about a person whom the speaker sees as a rival. We can assume that the speaker is Sylvia Plath herself. The rival could be her husband, Ted Hughes. The speaker directly talks to her rival. She compares the rival to the moon. Both look beautiful, but are also uncaring, distant, and destructive. The moon does not hav...
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The Rival Theme
Themes
Jealousy and Rivalry: “The Rival” is about rivalry. It shows how rivalry can bring resentment, jealousy, and pain. The poem makes the readers feel that they are reading about their own rivals. The speaker talks to someone who seems to always compete with her and take away attention or glory. She compares the rival to the moon, which is beautiful but destructive. The moon has no light. It bo...
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The Rival Literary Device
Figures of Speech
Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is directly compared to another without using like or as.
Example: “If the moon smiled, she would resemble you.”
Here, the poet compares the rival to the moon. This metaphor implies that both the moon and the rival are beautiful, but they are also distant and destructive. Both of them are “light borrowers.” The moon has...
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Notes
Explore 7 detailed notes related to The Rival. Each note provides in-depth analysis, explanations, and critical insights.