Sylvia Plath's Lesbos

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Sylvia Plath’s “Lesbos” takes readers into the frame of mind of a wife talking with a female neighbor that the speaker does not like. There are also two husbands mentioned in this poem, the speaker’s and the other female characters. Both husband are spoken about harshly and even hints towards one of the husbands having an affair. Written in 1962, after her divorce with her husband Ted Hughes, it may be a response to an affair her husband had with a woman she knew, while they were married. Through the use of emotionally written and imagery derived language, Sylvia Plath shows negative feelings toward the other female and the situation that lead up to the divorce with here then husband. The speaker in Lesbos does not like the life she is living, and feels animosity towards the way here husband, and neighbor treats her. The main character finally leaves the husband, and friend behind, hoping to never see them again. Through overly dramatized words the speaker puts her life in the context of being in a situation that is fake, too bright like a Hollywood movie, and more than she can handle being a part of. An example would be the wording “It is all Hollywood, windowless, the florescent light wincing on and off like a terrible migraine, and the speaker used the words…show more content…
This could also represent the anger of the women in the kitchen towards each other. Later in this poem she says “The smog of cooking the smog of hell floats our heads, two venomous opposites.” Which could be representing the thick dirty air in the kitchen that she hate being in, and that the two women in that kitchen are complete opposites trying to one up each other with negative, mean words. The florescent lights and woman in the kitchen with her are giving her a migraine. She calls herself a pathological liar. She is lying to the women in the kitchen with her trying to be nice and friendly, but secretly she hates
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