Love Is A Parallax by Sylvia Plath Analysis

‘Perspective betrays with its dichotomy:
train tracks always meet, not here, but only
   in the impossible mind’s eye;
horizons beat a retreat as we embark
on sophist seas to overtake that mark
   where wave pretends to drench real sky.’

‘Well then, if we agree, it is not odd
that one man’s devil is another’s god
   or that the solar spectrum is
a multitude of shaded grays; suspense
on the quicksands of ambivalence
   is our life’s whole nemesis.

So we could rave on, darling, you and I,
until the stars tick out a lullaby
   about each cosmic pro and con;
nothing changes, for all the blazing of
our drastic jargon, but clock hands that move
   implacably from twelve to one.

We raise our arguments like sitting ducks
to knock them down with logic or with luck
   and contradict ourselves for fun;
the waitress holds our coats and we put on
the raw wind like a scarf; love is a faun
   who insists his playmates run.

Now you, my intellectual leprechaun,
would have me swallow the entire sun
   like an enormous oyster, down
the ocean in one gulp: you say a mark
of comet hara-kiri through the dark
   should inflame the sleeping town.

So kiss: the drunks upon the curb and dames
in dubious doorways forget their monday names,
   caper with candles in their heads;
the leaves applaud, and santa claus flies in
scattering candy from a zeppelin,
   playing his prodigal charades.

The moon leans down to took; the tilting fish
in the rare river wink and laugh; we lavish
   blessings right and left and cry
hello, and then hello again in deaf
churchyard ears until the starlit stiff
   graves all carol in reply.

Now kiss again: till our strict father leans
to call for curtain on our thousand scenes;
   brazen actors mock at him,
multiply pink harlequins and sing
in gay ventriloquy from wing to wing
   while footlights flare and houselights dim.

Tell now, we taunt where black or white begins
and separate the flutes from violins:
   the algebra of absolutes
explodes in a kaleidoscope of shapes
that jar, while each polemic jackanapes
   joins his enemies’ recruits.

The paradox is that ‘the play’s the thing’:
though prima donna pouts and critic stings,
   there burns throughout the line of words,
the cultivated act, a fierce brief fusion
which dreamers call real, and realists, illusion:
   an insight like the flight of birds:

Arrows that lacerate the sky, while knowing
the secret of their ecstasy’s in going;
   some day, moving, one will drop,
and, dropping, die, to trace a wound that heals
only to reopen as flesh congeals:
   cycling phoenix never stops.

So we shall walk barefoot on walnut shells
of withered worlds, and stamp out puny hells
   and heavens till the spirits squeak
surrender: to build our bed as high as jack’s
bold beanstalk; lie and love till sharp scythe hacks
   away our rationed days and weeks.

Then jet the blue tent topple, stars rain down,
and god or void appall us till we drown
   in our own tears: today we start
to pay the piper with each breath, yet love
knows not of death nor calculus above
   the simple sum of heart plus heart.

Sylvia Plath’s poem “Love Is A Parallax” is a profound exploration of the intricate and often elusive nature of love. The poet skillfully employs vivid imagery and metaphors to convey the complexities and paradoxes inherent in the human experience of love.

The title itself, “Love Is A Parallax,” sets the tone for the entire poem. The word “parallax” refers to the apparent displacement of an object when viewed from different angles. Plath cleverly uses this concept to illustrate that love, like an object viewed from various perspectives, can take on different meanings and nuances depending on one’s point of view.

The opening lines introduce the idea that perspective can be deceiving. Plath describes train tracks that seem to meet in the “impossible mind’s eye,” highlighting the subjective and sometimes illusory nature of love. The use of “sophist seas” suggests the intellectual and philosophical challenges inherent in understanding love.

The poem delves into the relativity of beliefs and perceptions in the second stanza. Plath presents the notion that what may be considered a devil by one person is seen as a god by another. This relativity is extended to the solar spectrum, portraying life’s multitude of shaded grays. The word “ambivalence” captures the essence of the human struggle to reconcile conflicting emotions and beliefs.

Dialogues between two individuals form the crux of the third stanza. Plath captures the essence of debates on love, where arguments are raised and contradicted for the sheer enjoyment of intellectual exchange. The metaphor of love as a faun who insists on playfulness underscores the unpredictable and mischievous nature of this complex emotion.

In the fourth stanza, the poem takes a celestial turn. The idea of swallowing the sun and a comet’s hara-kiri through the dark introduces cosmic elements. Plath challenges conventional notions of love, suggesting a radical and all-encompassing experience. The call for a kiss amid the ordinary struggles of life injects a sense of celebration and defiance against the harsh realities.

The fifth stanza creates a magical and surreal atmosphere. The moon, tilting fish, and starlit graves contribute to an otherworldly setting. Plath emphasizes the eternal nature of love through repetitive greetings, even in deaf churchyard ears. This section of the poem celebrates the enduring and transcendent aspects of love.

The theme of performance and illusion dominates the sixth stanza. The strict father figure calling for a curtain on life’s scenes represents the inevitability of mortality. However, the brazen actors and harlequins mock this finality, suggesting a defiance against the constraints of time and mortality. This section highlights the interplay between reality and illusion in the theater of life.

In the concluding stanza, Plath contemplates the paradoxes of existence. The poem explores the dichotomy between absolutes and uncertainties, black and white. The play on words with “the play’s the thing” references Shakespeare and underscores the importance of action and experience in the face of life’s uncertainties. The cycling phoenix symbolizes the perpetual cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

In essence, “Love Is A Parallax” is a rich and multi-layered poem that invites readers to contemplate the ever-shifting and intricate nature of love. Plath’s use of metaphors, vivid imagery, and philosophical inquiries creates a tapestry of emotions and ideas that explore love’s complexities, uncertainties, and enduring qualities.