Poetry Analysis Paper

You Always Fade Away

AP Literature According to history, poetry has been around for the longest time. Many poets write in the hope of getting some form of meaning or message across to the reader. While the meaning behind a poem is important, how the poem came to mean is also quite important. In the poem “Mad Girl’s
Love Song,” by Sylvia Plath, she gives you a glimpse of how it is to live with the feeling of loving someone, but it either being unrequited love or like it’s completely taken over your life.
Plath uses devices such as, repetition, theme, personification and metaphor, in order to give the poem meaning. By using these devices, she basically bolds the main themes, which consist of love and loss. Throughout the poem, it is obvious that Plath has used repetition in order to get a meaning across. For example, the first line, “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead,” is probably used as a hook to get the reader interested. She repeats it a total of four times for the duration of the poem. This signifies that this line alone holds much importance to the meaning and to establish that she constantly goes back to it. It’s quite relevant to realize that this isn’t the only line that has much importance. While getting farther into the poem, this line is first mentioned in the first stanza, line three, “(I think I made you up inside my head),” and then repeated at the end of every other stanza. The more the reader gets through the poem, the more frequent the repetition becomes.

In the following stanza, the reader can see a touch of personification immediately in the first two lines. “The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,” while this is personification, it also connects to theme. This would be connecting to the theme of love. While in the following line, “and arbitrary blackness gallops in,” connects to the central theme of loss. It may seem odd to put such opposites in the same grouping, but when thinking of how Plath used personification and theme to give meaning, it makes sense. She exemplifies how easily it is to have loved and lost. As both are probably two sides to the same coin. Nearing the ending, Plath hits the reader with some use of metaphor. Since it’s the ending, the reader can practically feel that it’s all done. The journey is over with and it’s shown by the metaphor that’s packed, over the edge, with regret. “I should have loved a thunderbird instead; at least when spring comes they roar back again,” with this, it’s clear to see that Plath has intended this to be for people who’ve gone to hell and back. People who have probably risked it all for the one they love, which has either left said person burned or with hell frozen over. Plath has the perfect ending, by using both of her repeated lines and using them together. It clashes and leaves the reader thinking. What’s next? Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Mad Girl’s Love Song,” is quite the read for the average tortured soul.
Throughout the poem, Plath uses many devices to accomplish getting her meaning across. While the work itself might mean many different things to many different people, how that happens is the same. While using all these devices, Plath makes it easier to get to the meaning of the poems.
The means by how she accomplished that might just enhance the meaning.

Reflection
For this assignment, we were asked to select a poem from one of the poets on the approved list.
Once having completed the first step, we had to become familiar with the poem, in order to be able to create a thesis statement using a poetic device. The poetic devices were discussed in class. In order to properly analyze the poem, we were to use TPCASTT, which basically covers ever part of the poem. I met standard CCSS.ELA­LITERACY.W.11­12.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience, because I had originally finished my first draft and realized that I did the opposite of what was required. I had focused on what the poem meant, instead of how it meant. Due to this, I tried a new approach and focused on what had to be done. I also met standard, CCSS.ELA­LITERACY.W.11­12.6 Use technology, including the
Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. I met this standard because I do all of my papers on google docs, which is technology. I literally created, published and updated my writing on this and i’m probably going to still be revising it. Even though I know I did some form of meeting this standard, I don’t think i’m quite there yet.
CCSS.ELA­LITERACY.W.11­12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to

support analysis, reflection, and research. In regard to this standard, I may have some trouble. I know that I can get evidence from texts, all texts even. Yet, I don’t think I do it good enough to support my analysis or even my argument. TPCASTT
Title: The title to the poem is “Mad Girl’s Love Song,” which gives me the impression that this poem might be about love, but not exactly in the sense of “a walk in the park.” It’s more of a one sided thing, I’m not to sure yet.
Paraphrase:
1. I close my eyes and everything fades away I open my eyes and nothings changed (you aren’t real)
2. Stars are dancing in different colors (fireworks?) darkness comes the world fades away
3. My thoughts convinced me you got me in bed and captivated by the moon, your kisses drive me crazy (you aren’t real)
4. The kingdom is falling apart, underworld is coming undone, bye satan (seraphim?) I close my eyes and everything fades away
5. I liked the thought of you coming back, like you promised, i’m older now and don’t remember your name (you aren’t real)
6. I should have loved someone/something more consistent. Something that comes back around. I close my eyes and everything fades away. ( you aren’t real)
Connotation: All in all, this poems seems to be about a love that was too good at some point, like too good to be true. It wasn’t even real at times. It’s like you’re so in love that you feel like

you’re frozen in time. But with love also comes heartbreak, sometimes with love, it’s a “the one that got away” type of thing.
Attitude: I guess the attitude would be along the line of knowing that somethings not quite right with this love and because of that
Shifts: I noticed a shift from denial to acceptance. The same phrases were repeated throughout the poem, but from the start to finish, it was different. At first it was more like it’s this but it can’t be and later on it was it is what it is.
Title: Looking at the title now, I feel like it’s about a lost love. How love makes you think, feel and see crazy things. Things that aren’t there.
Theme: I believe the themes to be loss, love, hell, heaven and destruction. Which isn’t very unusual when you think about it. It all really fits together.