Sylvia Plath: Poems

Sylvia Plath: Poems Glossary

acanthine

relating to the acanthus, a small herb or shrub

anesthetist

someone who delivers anesthesia to a patient

bailiwick

a special place, domain

caustic

marked by harsh sarcasm

contusion

an injury without an open wound; a bruise

cornucopia

a receptacle shaped like a horn or cone

cypress

a coniferous, evergreen tree

efface

to eliminate; to erase; to make indistinct

filaments

single, elongated threadlike objects

flagons

large glasses as for wine, usually with a handle and a spout

keel

a flat-bottomed barge

Luftwaffe

the aerial warfare branch of the German military during WWII

opus

a final, great work, usually referring to a musical composition

oracle

a person (like a priestess of ancient Greece) through whom a deity is believed to speak; a shrine in which a deity reveals hidden knowledge or the divine purpose through such a person

pillbox

a round shallow box

pithy

terse, but substantive

ponderous

heavy and slow-moving

rondo

an instrumental composition; here, a dance

stasis

lack of movement

swaddlings

clothes an infant is enveloped/wrapped in

tendrils

something suggestive of a tendril (slender leaf that attaches a plant to its support)

tor

a rough, craggy hill

troublous

a form of the word troubling; stormy