Gridlock

"Conversation Among the Ruins" by Sylvia Plath

Meaning	"a vision of the devastating effect of a male lover on the female persona".
Antecedent Scenario	The poem is based on Giorgio de Chirico's painting of 1927.
Structural Parts	There is a definite play on words that represents the authors wit. Her opinions as well as personality are revealed through the text. There is also an evident use of symbolism and imagery throughout the poem as a whole. A phrase like 'Through portico of my elegant house you stalk' demonstrate the diction and syntax used by the author as well as her play on words. Plath also uses references to the "elegant house" to describe the woman's elegance and references the "wild furies" when describing the hostilities of the male. There is also an apparent reoccurring contradiction throughout the poem between man and woman.
Climax	The second stanza or sestet is where the climax occurs
Other Parts	The first stanza or octave is where the initial imagery and description takes place. It is where the scenario is laid out: a 'furious' man intrudes on a woman's orderly life, crippling her fantasy of love. The second stanza is where the climax occurs and the relationship is clearly in dismay. There is no emotion between the two, just the resentment the female feels.

Skeleton	The female speaks of the male the same throughout the novel. She speaks of him through her resentment throughout the novel but it isn't until the climax that we see how she will react towards her now broken dream of love.
Content Genre- games	The poem written by Path could be considered a love poem or a poem of solitude, yet the poem fits neither of these entirely. "Conversation Among the Ruins" is a poem about the destructive relationship between male and female. It fits a love poem in that the female was in love with the male until he smashed her dreams of love being shared between them. The poem could also be classified as a poem of solitude because it is a monologue of the female as she feels resentment towards the male as well as herself for ever loving him.
Tone	unpleasant, miserable, cynical
Agency
Roads Not Taken	I could not imagine the poem being written any differently if the meaning were to remain the same. It is because of the style and tone and all other literary techniques used that the poem has such a meaning to it.
Speech Acts	The speech acts in the poem consist of phrases like "Composed in Grecian tunic and psyche-knot" to describe the present state of the female. There are multiple speech acts within the short poem.
Outer and Inner Structural Forms	The poem is a sonnet that consists of two stanzas, the octave and sestet, with irregular meter followed by a question asked at the end. the sentences in the poem are short and only two complete sentences exist. The poem is told in first person by the female speaker in the poem. The poem is told in the present tense, bringing the future into question at the end. There are definite images created by the use of sensual words used in the poem.
Imagination	The imagination in the poem comes from the readers portrayal of the Giorgio de Chirico's painting.