Point of View

This poem is written in the second-person point of view using the pronoun “you”. This isn’t immediately apparent, being introduced only in the second stanza: “Your senses spin, and you are stone” (Line 5). The poem begins with a more distant perspective before moving closer to the central character and the reader. The speaker is therefore invisible, an omniscient narrator who speaks directly to the reader and draws them into the world of the poem. Following the third-person first stanza, every stanza uses this second-person pronoun at least once. This creates an effect of pulling Medusa off the page and bringing the context of the poem to life.

Language and Meaning

The language of “Medusa” is simplistic, straightforward, and accessible. In the tradition of Sylvia Plath, the words are short and brief to convey a staccato rhythm. In this example, the only word with more...