What Is The Mood Of The Poem Cinderella By Sylvia Plath

In the poem "Cinderella", written by Sylvia Plath, the familiar fairytale about Cinderella is rewritten by Plath to demonstrate the passing of time and aging, which is characterized by ticking of a clock. A palace provides the setting for magical evening, as a young girl dances the night away before the clock strikes midnight, and the narrator realizes that the young girl used to be her. Plath uses several literary techniques throughout the poem to contribute to the overall meaning. "Cinderella" is a sonnet, containing three quatrains followed by a couplet. Plath sets a romantic tone in the first stanza of "Cinderella," while using imagery to describe a girl "in scarlet heels" (1). Plath frequently uses colors to give the poem a deeper meaning,

The guests "slide" (6) around the palace, as they move to the rhythm of the music. The image of "gliding into light like wine" (6) is a simile used by Plath to show the dazzling and glowing experience of the guests, while expressing their swift movements. Plath uses colors again when showing the romantic mood and the feeling of a majestic atmosphere as the "rose candles flicker on the lilac wall" (7). The candles are "reflecting" against the containers of wine, making them "shine" (7). The symbol of light is frequently used throughout this stanza, which is synonymous for

This metaphor used by Plath begins to reveal to the reader that the girl at the palace is the narrator of the poem, reliving her youth. The word "trance" (9) refers to a dream or flashback that the narrator is experiencing. A shift occurs in line 11, as Plath alludes to the original "Cinderella" story when "twelve" (11) o' clock is approaching. Midnight represents the end of an old day and the beginning of a new one, as Plath uses midnight to show reality to the narrator. "Strange girl" (11) shows that the narrator doesn't recognize her past self, as she is so different from who she used to be. Once the girl realizes that it is almost midnight, she becomes "guilt-stricken" and "pales" as she "clings to the prince." (12). The prince symbolizes loss of love that narrator experienced, and as she grows old she feels she has let her life slip away. The thought of returning to reality frightens the