“I cannot life for life itself: but for the words which stay the flux. My life, I feel, will not be lived until there are books and stories which relive it perpetually in time. I forget too easily how it was, and shrink to the horror of the here and now, with no past and no future. Writing breaks open the vaults of the dead and the skies behind which the prophesying angels hide. The mind makes and makes, spinning its web.”
Analysis
In this quote by Sylvia Plath, the author expresses her belief in the power of writing to immortalize life and give it meaning beyond the fleeting moments of existence. She suggests that without the medium of words to capture and preserve experiences, life itself would lack significance and continuity. Plath's words convey a sense of craving for permanence and a fear of the ephemeral nature of life. Through writing, she sees a way to transcend the limitations of time and memory, allowing the past to be relived and the future to be envisioned. Plath's words highlight the transformative power of storytelling and the role of the writer in shaping and preserving the human experience.
Modern Relevance of Sylvia Plath's Words
Sylvia Plath's reflection on the power of words and storytelling to capture and preserve the essence of life holds great modern relevance in a digital age where information is constantly changing and evolving. In a world where it's easy to forget the past and become consumed by the present, Plath's words remind us of the importance of literature and art as a means of immortalizing our experiences and emotions. Through writing, we can break open the vaults of the past, connect with the wisdom of those who came before us, and create a lasting legacy that transcends time and space. By sharing our stories, we can inspire and connect with others, weaving a web of human experiences that shapes our collective consciousness.
Sylvia Plath on the Power of Writing
Sylvia Plath beautifully captures the essence of the power of writing in this quote. She expresses how writing serves as a way to immortalize life, allowing it to be relived and remembered perpetually. Plath emphasizes how writing breaks open the barriers of time and space, allowing for the past to be revisited and the future to be imagined. Through writing, the mind is able to create and make sense of the world around us.
Reflection Questions:
In Sylvia Plath's quote, she speaks to the power of writing as a way to immortalize one's experiences and memories. Reflecting on her words, consider the following questions:
- How do you personally view the role of writing in preserving your past experiences and memories?
- Do you find yourself forgetting important details of your life without a written record to refer back to?
- In what ways do you believe writing can transcend time and connect us to the past and future?
- Have you experienced the cathartic effect of writing, as mentioned by Plath, in breaking open emotions and allowing for introspection?
- How does Plath's perspective on writing resonate with your own beliefs and experiences with creative expression?
Similar quotes
“I am alone so I dream of the being who has cured my solitude, who would be cured by solitudes. With its life, it brought me the idealizations of life, all the idealizations which give life a double, which lead life toward it summits, which make the dreamer too live by splitting...”
“The first thing which I can record concerning myself is, that I was born. These are wonderful words. This life, to which neither time nor eternity can bring diminution - this everlasting living soul, began. My mind loses itself in these depths.”
“The proper ending for any story about people it seems to me, since life is now a polymer in which the Earth is wrapped so tightly, should be the same abbreviation, which I now write large because I feel like it, which is this one:ETC.”
“But, Ashley, what are you afraid of?''Oh, nameless things. Things which sound very silly when they areput into words. Mostly of having life suddenly become too real, ofbeing brought into personal, too personal, contact with some of thesimple facts of life. It isn't that I mind splitting logs here inthe mud, but I do mind what it stands for. I do mind, very much,the loss of the beauty of the old life I loved. Scarlett, beforethe war, life was beautiful. There was a glamor to it, aperfection and a completeness and a symmetry to it like Grecianart. Maybe it wasn't so to everyone. I know that now. But to me,living at Twelve Oaks, there was a real beauty to living. Ibelonged in that life. I was a part of it. And now it is gone andI am out of place in this new life, and I am afraid. Now, I knowthat in the old days it was a shadow show I watched. I avoidedeverything which was not shadowy, people and situations which weretoo real, too vital. I resented their intrusion.”
“At its best, schooling can be about how to make a life, which is quite different from how to make a living.”