Conversation Among the Ruins by Sylvia Plath Analysis, Summary, Meaning, Interpretation, Review 

I think the Grecian reference is because of a painting that seems to have been the inspiration (in the way this whole universal understanding of a breakdown of a relationship has been portrayed many times before and will be again in future, by men and women the world over) for Plath's poem. I can't remember what the painting was called, but there was either a Greek god in it, or the husband/male counterpart was painted to look like a Greek god. The "psyche-knot" is a multi-layered piece of symbolism that incorporates a style populated by ancient Greek women; it is an elegant hairstyle referencing the woman's more reserved, dignified, yet calm demeanour in contrast to the dude's more violent and destructive behaviour described at the beginning of the poem. It's obviously teasing out the more obvious references to her own psyche being tied up in knots, as well as referring the character in Greek mythology Psyche, who also had a tempestuous relationship herself. (Can't remember who with, my Greek mythology knowledge is severely lacking and I haven't read any Plath in donkey's years. But the entire pantheon of gods/goddesses *were* batshit insane, lol.) I too find a lot of Plath's work difficult to engage with, to be honest. She writes wonderfully, creates some powerful allegorical and metaphorical imagery that can be fun to dissect, hunting for "Easter Eggs' within the text. But her writing leaves me cold. She seems to want to appear to be showing vulnerability, but also knows that being overly sentimental will hurt her chances at getting to play with the big boys in the poetry game. She's the ultimate 'Sad Girl' aesthetic, but at the same time a lot of her writing feels as though she is creating a sterile - yet still very effective - oeuvre that to me always feels like we're being held back, at a safe distance from her. There is a sense of performativeness about what at first glance appears to be an intense glimpse into her troubled mind. It's not that she's not being herself, more that she appears to be always playing at being herself, and with that play acting the Plath on the page becomes a hyperbolic caricature of a woman in very real psychic pain. I'm not trying to say that she's *cosplaying* as a woman nearing the end of her rope (we all know how the story ends), just that she seems to have over-polished her prose to the point of rendering it far less organic. It's all very noticeably deliberate. And yes, I do know that all poets have to agonise over each word, line, rhyme and imagery they are trying to convey...I just get a feeling that Plath is more of a literary work-horse, than a barely tamed Mustang, which is what I think is the elusive vibe that a lot of poets have strived to achieve. Like a beautiful woman who wishes to evoke an innate style and grace of a swan gliding across a lake, poetry for me has to be like that swan: appearing effortless on the surface, while all the hard word of kicking and paddling and steering itself remains discreetly tucked away. Sorry, I'm rambling. By all means tell me to feck off and stop cluttering up your comments section with backstory after you'd just said that you weren't interested in the biographical background to a poem. This is just a poem I'm a little more familiar with than others you've featured. (As a totally unnecessary aside I thought that using Gwyneth Paltrow to play Plath in the movie 'Sylvia' was kind of genius. Paltrow isn't a great actress and always seems deeply uncomfortable on screen. That inherent awkwardness just seemed to echo how a lot of what comes through in Plath's writing. And a lot of Plath's writing has the awkwardness of her struggle to be authentic always humming away in the margins.) Okay I'm definitely going now. Sorry, bye !

Good video !

Hit that button !!!

R u happy today my man