Dissecting ‘Cut’ by Sylvia Plath

Breaking down the reasons why I love this poem so much

“I desire the the things that will destroy me in the end.” — Sylvia Plath

I was first introduced to Sylvia Plath when I was seventeen. I immediately connected to the rich darkness within her poetry. I have always been perpetually sad. I watched the 2003 film with Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig. I am aware that it is a particularly contested film, but I personally adored it.

The one poem (aside from Lady Lazarus & Daddy) I always come back to is Cut. The double meanings fill me with delight! It also reminds me why I love poetry so much.

The poem is formed by ten stanzas of four lines. The format is very choppy, but it keeps a rhythm. In the first stanza, Plath talks of cutting her thumb while chopping onions. Instead of expressing pain, she talks of it as being thrilling.

It is important here to note Sylvia’s struggles with mental illness. As someone who also battles depression, there are times where you struggle to feel anything at all. So, I see the first stanza as the act of cutting her finger brings her out of the numbness.

The next stanza brings us to Plath describing the wound in detail. She calls the bit of skin that has been moved “…a flap like a hat…”, which I find particularly striking.

The line I adore most comes from the fourth stanza: “…clutching my bottle of pink fizz…”

My interpretation of this line is that she isn’t talking about champagne, rather her wounded thumb that is fizzing with blood. She steps on a heart, which appears to show the push and pull of mental illness—wanting to feel something, but afraid of feeling everything.

Plath goes on to say that she has “…taken a pill to kill that thin, papery feeling…”, which only reaffirms my belief that this poem is, at its core, about being at war with oneself.

I would theorise that her poem Daddy and this one are closely linked because of the allusion to a kamikaze man. This idea of an overbearing male figure is prevalent throughout Daddy.

Perhaps she treats her depression as an ominous, looming authority that weighs her down. I certainly relate to that. Overall, this poem has had a profound effect on me. In the latter stanzas, it has a sing-songy quality to it.

In the comments, let me know what your favourite poems are!

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