Ariel (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes

Ariel

Introduction to the poem

Ariel is one of Sylvia Plath's most powerful and unforgettable poems, published in 1965, two years after her death. The poem uses the thrilling experience of a horseback ride to represent a profound psychological transformation. What starts as a physical journey quickly becomes an emotional and mental voyage through fear, freedom, and rebirth. The poem captures the intense speed of change, reflecting the speaker's struggles with identity and personal freedom through strong sensory language.

Context and background

Understanding the background of this poem is essential to fully appreciate its meaning. Ted Hughes, Plath's husband, revealed in an interview after her death that Ariel was actually the name of Plath's horse. This crucial piece of information transforms how we read the poem - it is not just about any horse ride, but a specific, personal experience that Plath had during her time in the English countryside.

Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1932. She was an American poet whose work is deeply connected to her experiences as a woman navigating life between the United States and the United Kingdom. When she was only eight years old, her father died. His death was particularly significant because he had been strict and authoritarian in his parenting approach. This loss became a driving force behind many of her most famous poems, most notably Daddy.

Throughout her schooling, she battled with depression and attempted suicide in 1953. In 1960, her first poetry collection, Colossus, was published, and in 1963 she published her novel, The Bell Jar. Tragically, Sylvia Plath died by suicide using her gas oven in February 1963. Her most famous collection of works, Ariel, was published by Hughes after her death, along with three other collections.

Poetic form and structure

Ariel is constructed using tercets, which are sets of three lines grouped together as stanzas. This structure is maintained consistently throughout the poem, creating a visual pattern that contrasts with the chaotic, out-of-control feeling of the content.

Plath demonstrates masterful use of sound devices throughout the poem:

• Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds, particularly in rhyming patterns
• Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds that create internal harmonies
• End rhymes: Some lines conclude with rhyming sounds
• Slant or half-rhymes: Partial rhymes that create subtle connections between lines
• Head rhymes: Also called alliteration, where initial consonant sounds repeat

One of the most distinctive features is Plath's use of enjambment, where lines break before their natural stopping points. This technique gives the poem a rushed, breathless feeling, as if the reader is also riding on this out-of-control horse. The words spill over from one line to the next, mirroring the speaker's inability to stop or slow down.

Summary of the poem

The poem describes the terror and transformation of a wild horseback ride. It begins with a calm moment of stasis in darkness, where nothing is happening. Suddenly, the horse Ariel throws herself headlong into a charge, and the speaker finds herself holding on for dear life, unable to grasp the horse's neck. The hills and landmarks of the countryside pour past them as they speed along.

As the ride continues, the speaker begins to lose pieces of herself. She is shedding her past life and stringencies (the requirements and restrictions that have defined her existence). She is merging with Ariel and becoming something new - the arrow that will take her to a new life. The poem concludes with the speaker and horse charging on into the burning sun and the future that awaits them, described as the red eye and the cauldron of morning.

Detailed analysis

Lines 1-3: The opening stasis

Stasis in darkness. Then the substanceless blue Pour of tor and distances.

The poem opens with a very brief description of stillness. The speaker finds herself in a place of darkness where nothing is happening. She is in stasis, frozen in place. This creates anticipation - both the speaker and the reader are waiting for something to occur.

This stillness does not last long. The second and third lines of the opening tercet jump suddenly into action. Knowing that Ariel was the name of Plath's horse helps us understand what happens next - the horse has suddenly bolted. All at once, the substanceless blue (the undefined sky and scenery around her) is flying around. She describes the pour of tor and distances. The word tor, meaning hills, creates a perfect example of internal rhyming that helps carry the piece forward with its sound. The hillsides, woods, and other landmarks are speeding past her as Ariel carries her away.

Lines 4-6: Merging with the horse

God's lioness, How one we grow, Pivot of heels and knees!—The furrow

The next tercet provides slightly more description. The speaker describes Ariel, the horse, as being God's lioness. This comparison attempts to show the strength and power of the horse - she is a fearful, majestic being. Perhaps she is even more powerful than the speaker realised just moments ago. The two of them, rider and horse, are merging and growing together as one.

The speaker can only catch flashes of the horse's movements as she attempts to cling to the neck. She sees the fast pivot of heels and knees, observing how Ariel propels her forward, expertly navigating the terrain.

Lines 7-9: Loss of control

Splits and passes, sister to The brown arc Of the neck I cannot catch,

At the start of the third tercet, the speaker compares the furrow (the indention made from the horses' hooves in the ground) to that of the horse's brown neck. The two are alike, as sisters are. There is no time for either the speaker or the reader to dwell on this observation, as the narration takes us quickly into the next line. The speaker is unable to catch hold of the brown neck of the horse. She is starting to lose the small amount of control she has over the situation.

Lines 10-12: Dark imagery

Nigger-eye Berries cast dark Hooks—

The speaker is being catapulted past dark areas, which she refers to using imagery that would be considered offensive by today's standards. The use of certain terms in this context was meant as a general descriptor of darkness rather than to refer to any particular person or type of person. In Plath's time, this usage was more common, though today it is rightly considered inappropriate. In the analysis, these terms have been censored with asterisks.

These dark berries stick in her mind, casting dark hooks into her consciousness.

Lines 13-15: Imagining darkness

Black sweet blood mouthfuls, Shadows. Something else

The speaker continues to be caught by the image of the berries, imagining tasting them as black sweet blood mouthfuls. This use of dark imagery is characteristic of Plath's work. The addition of the word blood creates a feeling of dread, as if something darker is on the verge of happening. This feeling connects with the fact that the speaker is in actual danger whilst riding atop Ariel.

The following lines continue to spread the feeling of danger. The second line of this tercet contains only the word Shadows, followed by more flashes as she rides. There is something else present, something ominous.

Lines 16-18: Forced movement and transformation

Hauls me through air— Thighs, hair; Flakes from my heels.

This something else is what is hauling her through the air. The speaker has not chosen to embark on this chaotic and somewhat terrifying ride on top of Ariel - she is being hauled along, forced to go without a choice.

The speaker's attention turns back to the horse, describing how she is being carried along:

Thighs, hair;

Below her, flakes are falling from her heels. She observes the power of the horse and its ability to carry her wherever it wants through body parts that mirror her own. Additionally, as this happens, she is coming apart. Her feet, which represent her form of self-transportation, are falling apart and shedding their skin. She is becoming something new.

Lines 19-21: The Godiva reference

White Godiva, I unpeel— Dead hands, dead stringencies.

The next line contains only the word White, which contrasts sharply with the previous reference to dark berries in the fourth tercet. She is casting herself as the opposite - she has tasted darkness in her mouth and is now coming out of it. She compares herself directly with Godiva.

Lady Godiva was a historical figure from the 11th century who saved her people by proving her devotion to her husband, the powerful Earl of Mercia and Lord of the city. To demonstrate this devotion, Lady Godiva rode through the centre of town on horseback, naked. The speaker states that she, like Lady Godiva, is peeling off a layer, though she means this metaphorically. Plath's narrator, instead of removing clothing, is ridding herself of dead hands, dead stringencies.

This dangerous and cleansing ride is freeing her from the stringencies - the requirements and expectations of her life. She is shedding the person she has been and becoming someone else entirely.

Lines 22-24: The child's cry

And now I Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas. The child's cry

The poem begins to reach its conclusion as the reader comes to understand that this ride on Ariel is more than just an accidental brush with disaster. It represents a wake-up call, an opportunity that the speaker takes to change her way of life.

The change the speaker is undergoing is described in the next stanza. She is transforming from foam to wheat, shedding her old self and becoming one with the landscape she is flying through. She becomes:

...a glitter of seas.

The reader receives additional important details at the end of the poem. The speaker mentions the child's cry. Up to this point, there have been no other characters mentioned in this drama, so we must consider the importance of this child being mentioned in such a prominent position in the narrative. Whilst it is never made clear who this child is, we can assume it represents either a child the speaker has lost or one for whom she yearns.

Lines 25-27: Becoming the arrow

Melts in the wall. And I Am the arrow,

The speaker's thoughts about this child's cry continue into the next tercet. She describes how the cry melts in the wall - it disappears from her consciousness. She is becoming part of nature with no need to dwell on the past or on loss.

She has shed the part of herself that mourns this loss and is now the arrow. She is speeding so quickly through the substanceless blue that she is shooting forward like an arrow. The connection between herself and Ariel, the horse, has grown powerful and complete.

Lines 28-31: The final charge

The dew that flies Suicidal, at one with the drive Into the red Eye, the cauldron of morning.

The final lines bring back the darkness felt earlier in the poem. The speaker describes the ride as suicidal. Given what we know about the transformation the narrator is undertaking, this reference to suicide most likely refers to the killing of a past self. Ariel is charging quickly, moving almost suicidally as well.

As they ride, the dew from the forest flies past them, and they drive onward. Their pace is not slowing. Ariel and the speaker are now completely merged, determined to reach exactly where they need to be. They are driving:

...Into the red Eye, the cauldron of morning.

They are charging directly at the sun - a new day is approaching. The speaker can see a new, intense, burning light at the end of her journey, and she is heading straight towards it. This is where she will find her new life. The image of the cauldron suggests transformation and rebirth through fire and intensity.

Themes

Journey

The entire poem follows the speaker as she rides a horse through an intense and almost chaotic experience. What begins as a physical ride quickly becomes a deeper journey that blends both emotional and psychological shifts. The movement is fast and unstoppable, mirroring how some life experiences feel beyond control. The speaker is not just travelling through space but also through stages of change. Her sense of direction shifts as she approaches something unknown and powerful.

Identity

Throughout the poem, the speaker's sense of self breaks down and rebuilds. She sheds parts of her identity - her dead hands, dead stringencies - as she rides. The boundaries between herself and the horse begin to blur until she becomes one with Ariel. This loss and reformation of identity suggests that change requires letting go of who we were. By the end, she is no longer just a passenger but has transformed into the arrow itself, stripped of her past attachments and aimed towards something new.

Dark

Darkness appears throughout the poem in various forms, from the opening stasis in darkness to the imagery of black sweet blood mouthfuls and shadows. This darkness represents both danger and the unknown parts of the self that the speaker must confront. The use of dark imagery is characteristic of Plath's work, reflecting psychological depths and fears. However, the darkness is not purely negative - it is something the speaker passes through on her way to the bright red eye of morning.

New life

The poem ultimately moves towards rebirth and transformation. The speaker sheds her old self, becoming something new - first foam, then wheat, then a glitter of seas, and finally an arrow. The journey through darkness leads to the cauldron of morning, suggesting that destruction of the old self is necessary for the creation of a new one. The final image of driving into the red eye represents both the dawn of a new day and the beginning of a transformed existence.

Death

Death appears as both metaphorical and literal throughout the poem. The speaker describes the ride as suicidal, and references dead hands and dead stringencies. However, this death seems to be about killing off an old version of herself rather than physical death. The poem explores how transformation requires a kind of death - the ending of one way of being before another can begin. The intense, almost reckless speed of the ride suggests both danger and a willingness to risk everything for change.

Emotions evoked

Terror

The poem captures an overwhelming sense of terror as the speaker is carried at high speed on a horse she cannot control. The movement is fast, disorienting, and chaotic, with images of darkness and danger rushing past her. This fear is not just physical but also emotional, as she loses her grip on her surroundings and even her sense of self. The uncontrolled motion reflects the fear of being overtaken by something more powerful than she can handle.

Freedom

Whilst the speaker experiences terror, she also experiences freedom. The shedding of dead stringencies represents liberation from the expectations and restrictions that have defined her life. As she becomes one with the horse and the landscape, she achieves a kind of freedom through letting go. This freedom is exhilarating yet frightening - it comes at the cost of control and certainty.

Anxiety

Anxiety permeates the poem through the fragmented images and breathless pace. The speaker cannot catch hold of the horse's neck, cannot control her direction, and experiences flashes of darkness and shadow. This creates a pervasive sense of unease and worry about what will happen next. The enjambment and short, broken phrases mirror the anxious, racing thoughts of someone in crisis.

Depression

Elements of depression appear in the references to darkness, stasis, and dead things. The opening image of being frozen in darkness before the ride begins suggests a state of emotional numbness or paralysis. The mention of the child's cry that melts in the wall may reference loss and grief. The poem can be read as depicting a desperate attempt to escape from depression through transformation.

Resilience

Despite the terror and danger, the speaker continues the journey. She does not fall off or give up but instead merges with the horse and becomes the arrow aimed at a new destination. This shows a kind of resilience - the ability to face fear and uncertainty whilst moving towards change. The final image of driving into the cauldron of morning suggests determination and strength, even in the face of what might destroy her.

Key motif: Horses

The poem centres on a real horse named Ariel, which Sylvia Plath rode during her time in the English countryside. However, the horse becomes much more than just an animal in the poem. It symbolises the force that propels the speaker into a physical and emotional journey. The horse's speed and uncontrollable power serve as the driving force behind the poem's energy.

The horse's movement mirrors the speaker's mental state, turning the ride into a metaphor for inner turmoil and transformation. As the boundaries between rider and horse blur, Ariel represents the wild, uncontrollable forces within ourselves that can lead to both destruction and rebirth. The horse is described as God's lioness, emphasising its power and majesty. By the end of the poem, the speaker has merged so completely with Ariel that she becomes the arrow itself, showing how the horse has facilitated her transformation.