The Moon and the Yew Tree

E343972

"The Moon and the Yew Tree" is a stark, introspective poem by Sylvia Plath that juxtaposes a cold lunar presence with a dark yew tree to explore themes of depression, spirituality, and emotional desolation.

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The Moon and the Yew Tree canonical 1

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
poem
associatedWith Plath’s late work
author Sylvia Plath
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReputation frequently anthologized
widely studied in Plath scholarship
explores limits of religious consolation
relationship between inner psyche and external landscape
genre confessional poetry
imageryType funereal imagery
lunar imagery
religious imagery
language English
literaryMovement Confessional poetry
literaryPeriod 20th-century poetry
mainCharacter unnamed first-person speaker
meter free verse
mood despairing
haunting
narrativePerspective first person
rhymeScheme none regular
setting churchyard
nighttime
stylisticFeature compressed emotional intensity
stark visual contrasts
symbolic landscape
symbol bell
church
graveyard
moon
window
yew tree
symbolismOfChurch inadequate spiritual comfort
symbolismOfMoon cold detached presence
symbolismOfYewTree death and mourning
theme alienation
death imagery
depression
emotional desolation
motherhood and ambivalence
religious doubt
spiritual crisis
tone bleak
introspective
stark

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Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Crossing the Water containsWork The Moon and the Yew Tree