Contusion
Sylvia Plath * Track #41 On Ariel
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- #40Kindness
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- #41Contusion
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Contusion by Sylvia Plath
Performed by
Sylvia PlathAbout
The poem begins with a straightforward description of a physical contusion – a bruise. It then moves to metaphors that convey the pain and repression of emotional contusions.
“Contusion” was written eleven days before Plath committed suicide and is often read in conjunction with “Edge”, which was...
Contusion Annotated
Color floods to the spot, dull purple.
The rest of the body is all washed out,
The color of pearl.
In a pit of rock
The sea sucks obsessively,
One hollow the whole sea's pivot.
The size of a fly,
The doom mark
Crawls down the wall.
The heart shuts,
The sea slides back,
The mirrors are sheeted.