Gulliver

The poem titled Gulliver by Sylvia Plath reminded me of the story of Gulliver written by Jonathan Swift and the story of Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. In a way this poem could be a poem of self-discovery or journey. Gulliver is a representative of a person who sets out of his home, homeland and familiar moorings or surroundings looking for new experiences. The ugly duckling's search for acceptance leads the ugly duckling on a journey too. This poem is about journeying, crossing large distances, arriving in unexpected places, meeting with people who don't recognise who you are or where you come from. It is about reaching places where norms and practices and language is different. I remember reading an illustrated book containing the story of Gulliver's Travels and seeing the picture of Gulliver, a giant Gulliver-- lying down on the ground and lots of ant like humans tying him up with their ropes which may have been like thin strings to Gulliver. The poem is addressed to Gulliver. The poet says the clouds travel over Gulliver and look as though they float on invisible glass. The clouds are high,icy and flat. The clouds are unlike swans. They have no reflections. Swans are found in ponds or lakes. It is the reference to swans that reminded me of the story of the ugly duckling. It is when the ugly duckling looks into the water that she/he sees itself as beautiful like a swan. The clouds are unlike the swans. But here Gulliver is looking at clouds. The clouds are unlike Gulliver because the clouds have no fetters. All the clouds are cool and blue and they float unfettered and hence are unlike Gulliver because he has fetters on him. Clouds are also unlike swans and have no reflection. The reflection of swans is found in the water they float on. Clouds are unlike swans because clouds do not float on water and clouds do not have a reflection primarily because they do not float on water. The clouds are unlike Gulliver. According to the poet Gulliver had no strings attached. Gulliver could have been like clouds earlier unfettered but now is not like a cloud. Perhaps the poet is saying that the reasons that caused Gulliver to set out on his seafaring journey is not similar to the reasons of the ugly duckling who became a swan. He had no strings such as pain from lack of acceptance attached to him. Yet when he is washed ashore in Lilliput he feels similar to how the ugly duckling felt before the ugly duckling looked at the water. The poet was like the clouds cool and blue. Gulliver has been washed ashore from the water to a shore where he is caught by the Lilliputians and tied down to the ground. The poet says that Gulliver is lying down looking at the sky and the spider men have caught Gulliver. I don't think Sylvia Plath is referring to spider man the super hero. Sylvia Plath may be referring to people who are like spiders. I think Sylvia Plath wrote this poem before the invention of the marvel comic hero spider man. Gulliver has no strings attached. It means Gulliver who had nothing tying him down set out on this quest only to find himself in a place where people who are very small compared to him are tying him down with strings and walking all over him. So the Lilliputians may be the spidermen. The ropes that tied Gulliver by the Lilliputians is described by Plath as a fetter. The fetters are petty. The fetters are bribes and are compared to silks. The Lilliputians tie him down with their petty concerns. They hate Gulliver. Since Gulliver is a giant the space between two fingers of Gulliver seems like a valley to the Lilliputians and here the Lilliputians converse. The Lilliputians are like inchworms. They would like Gulliver to sleep in their cabinets. This could mean that they would like to dispossess Gulliver of the characteristics that make him Gulliver -- His fearlessness and sense of adventure. Gulliver who travelled the great seas is to be shorn of his wings. Are Gullivers toes a relic? A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time due to historical or sentimental interest. To the Lilliputians Gullivers toes are a relic. They number his toes. They say this toe and that toe. As in unimportant. His toes are unimportant to them as in having only historical or sentimental value. The parts of his body are like the land they traverse on. Filled with hills and valleys. Seven leagues is a measure of distance. The Lilliputians want Gulliver to step off the seven leagues or stop travelling such huge distances. The strings which tied Gulliver down by the Lilliputians are like fetters because they try to stop Gulliver from doing his own thing. Gulliver is into travel so step off seven leagues could mean crossing huge distances--step off means drop from a shore line into deep water. Seven leagues could mean vast distances. Then Lilliputians want Gulliver to change the path of his life of journeying and crossing large distances. So Gulliver landing in the strange land of the Lilliputians would be similar to stepping off of the shore and landing in deep water. Gulliver may be travelling through space and time. Because relic is something from an earlier time and seven leagues denotes distance or space. The distances revolve in Crivelli. To the Lilliputians Gullivers eyes seem like an eagle. And just as the space between Gullivers fingers seems like a valley the shadow of Gullivers lips is like an abyss. The Lilliputians are literally walking all over Gulliver. The space between Gulliver's fingers feels like a valley to them, the shadow of Gulliver's lips like an abyss, his eyes seem like an eagle, and toes are like relics as they walk around all over Gulliver. Gulliver's face, hands, eyes, and toes are like the ground on which the Lilliputians walk on. The Lilliputians may be treating Gulliver with disrespect by walking all over him. Inspite of the Lilliputians being very small compared to Gulliver they are able to tie him down with petty fetters and walk all over him. They do not acknowledge or respect or value Gulliver even as Gulliver becomes like the landscape to them. Gulliver is a larger than life personality to the Lilliputians.