Words
Poetry
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Sylvia Plath
Words Full Poem
Words
By Sylvia Plath (1932 – 1963)
Axes
After whose stroke the wood rings,
And the echoes!
Echoes traveling
Off from the center like horses.The sap
Wells like tears, like the
Water striving
To re-establish its mirror
Over the rock
That drops and turns,
A white skull,
Eaten by weedy greens.
Years later I
Encounter them on the road-
Words dry and riderless,
The indefatigable hoof-taps.
While
From t...
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Words Key Facts
Key Facts
Title: Words
Poet: Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
Written Date: On February 1, 1963, just 10 days before she died by suicide.
Publication Date: It was published in her posthumous collection, Ariel, in 1965
Form: Free verse poem (no set rhyme or meter)
Length: 4 stanzas, each with 5 lines; 20 lines
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Words Summary
Detailed Summary
Words are like Axes: The poet compares words/writing to the blow of axes on the wood. Axes strike wood and create echoes. The echoes spread out like a running horse. Poets can spread out their thinking or express deep emotions through words. Just as axes cut down trees so that their wood can be made into something else, the speaker can transform raw experience into art by writing...
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Words Themes
Themes
The Power and Limits of Writing
This poem is about how strong and powerful words can be. This poem also shows how a writer cannot fully control her words/writing once they are written.
The poem begins by comparing “Words” to “Axes.” This metaphor shows the power of writing. Just as axes cut down trees so that their wood can be made into something else, the poet can transform raw experience...
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Words Characters
Sylvia Plath's (1932 – 1963) poem "Words" is thoughtful. Here are some key characters of the poem:
Sylvia Plath (Speaker)
The poem is often seen as autobiographical. The speaker reflects the thoughts and emotions of the poet herself. Plath's struggles with mental health and self-expression are knitted into the poem.
"Words"
In the poem, "Words" is personified as a force that can both free and con...
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Words Literary Devices
Figures of Speech
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things, generally using like or as.
Example: “Echoes traveling
Off from the center like horses.”
Here, echoes and words are compared to running horses that rush out fast. Poets’ words/writing spread out fast, like running horses.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is directly compared to a...
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Words Quotes
Quotes
“Axes
After whose stroke the wood rings,”
Here, words are compared to “axes.” Both have the ability to strike and cut deep. Words can strike the readers’ hearts deeply.
“The sap
Wells like tears…”
It means the poet can express her emotions or feelings through words. She can release her pain, like crying, by writing.
“Words dry and riderless,”
Many years later, the poet...
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