Ian Gilbert Words by Sylvia Plath is a powerful poem that strikes at the very meaning of words and their potential. At first glance, feelings of strength and energy wash over the reader. When reading it out loud its almost impossible not to picture an overdramatic actor clenching their right hand and looking up to the sky. The use of the word indefatigable makes this poem quite self evident in the power and emotion spewing from that word. The emotion throughout the poem is almost direct pain. This is shown immediately with the first word “Axes.” After reading it a few times this word is still the most striking because words are like axes. They can be very painful. This pain can also be seen in the lines “Wells like tears” meaning more pain caused from words. From this the reader can infer that Plath was probably recently struck down by words. The next striking visual comes from the use of sound and the way sound acts. “Echoes traveling off the center like horses” giving the reader a great sense of indirect onomatopoeia and a stunning visual. A rock dropping into water gives a similar visual with the use of circles, making another reference to the way sound can have an impact. The final three words of the poem sum up at least some of the meaning within the poem. “Govern a life.” This is very accurate for the majority of us. We try not to, but we live the majority of our lives according to what we hear people say about us and what we should do. All these things that she described that give us a vivid illustration of words, their meaning, and their effect and she could have just said “words govern a life.”