Ariel Death Quotes

The poem begins with a still, even deathly still image. Nothing is moving. All we have is quiet, still darkness.

Nothing is innocent in this poem; even berries have a sense of foreboding to them. The speaker imagines her mouth filling up with blood as she tastes the juice of the berries. This lady's got a pretty serious dark streak.

In this transformative moment, the speaker imagines herself stripping away the "dead" aspects of her former life—she strips away the body and the rules that are holding her down. After this, she'll be free as a bird (or… horse).