Sylvia Plath's "Sheep in Fog" explores the speaker's intense feelings of disappointment, despair, and insignificance. The speaker feels like they've been trudging too slowly through life and have failed to live up to their promise and potential. They've let down other people and even fate itself, and they can't see a way forward through the thick, all-consuming fog of their despair. In the end, the poem suggests that the only relief is the oblivion of death, a dark, empty "heaven" where neither expectations nor disappointments exist. Plath wrote the poem shortly before her death in 1962. It was published in 1965 as part of the posthumous collection, Ariel.
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The Full Text of “Sheep in Fog”
The Full Text of “Sheep in Fog”
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“Sheep in Fog” Summary
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“Sheep in Fog” Themes
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Hopelessness, Disappointment, and Despair
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-15
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sheep in Fog”
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Line 1
The hills step off into whiteness.
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Lines 2-3
People or stars ...
... I disappoint them. -
Lines 4-7
The train leaves ...
... Hooves, dolorous bells— -
Lines 8-10
All morning the ...
... flower left out. -
Lines 11-15
My bones hold ...
... a dark water.
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“Sheep in Fog” Symbols
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Stars
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “People or stars / Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.”
- Lines 13-15: “They threaten / To let me through to a heaven / Starless and fatherless, a dark water.”
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Morning
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 8-9: “All morning the / Morning has been blackening,”
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The Flower
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 10: “A flower left out.”
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Whiteness/Fog
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “The hills step off into whiteness.”
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The Slow Horse
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 5-7: “O slow / Horse the colour of rust, / Hooves, dolorous bells—”
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“Sheep in Fog” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 1: “The hills step off into whiteness.”
- Lines 4-9: “The train leaves a line of breath. / O slow / Horse the colour of rust, / Hooves, dolorous bells— / All morning the / Morning has been blackening,”
- Line 10: “A flower left out.”
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Line 1: “The hills step off into whiteness.”
- Lines 2-3: “stars / Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.”
- Line 4: “The train leaves a line of breath.”
- Line 7: “dolorous bells—”
- Lines 11-13: “My bones hold a stillness, the far / Fields melt my heart. / They threaten”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 1
- Lines 4-9
- Line 10
- Lines 11-15
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Diacope
Where diacope appears in the poem:- Lines 8-9: “All morning the / Morning has been blackening,”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “stars / Regard”
- Lines 5-6: “slow / Horse”
- Lines 8-9: “the / Morning”
- Lines 11-12: “far / Fields”
- Lines 13-14: “threaten / To”
- Lines 14-15: “heaven / Starless”
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Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “step,” “whiteness”
- Line 2: “stars”
- Line 3: “sadly,” “disappoint”
- Line 5: “slow”
- Line 6: “Horse,” “rust”
- Line 7: “dolorous”
- Line 15: “Starless,” “fatherless”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “stars”
- Line 3: “sadly”
- Line 4: “leaves,” “line”
- Line 6: “Horse”
- Line 7: “Hooves”
- Line 9: “been,” “blackening”
- Line 11: “far”
- Line 12: “Fields”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “stars”
- Line 3: “Regard”
- Line 5: “O,” “slow”
- Line 6: “Horse,” “colour,” “rust”
- Line 7: “dolorous”
- Line 10: “flower,” “out”
- Line 11: “bones,” “hold,” “far”
- Line 12: “heart”
- Line 13: “threaten”
- Line 14: “let,” “heaven”
- Line 15: “Starless,” “fatherless,” “dark”
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Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.”
- Lines 5-7: “O slow / Horse the colour of rust, / Hooves, dolorous bells—”
- Lines 11-12: “My bones hold a stillness, the far / Fields melt my heart.”
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“Sheep in Fog” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Regard
- O
- Colour
- Dolorous
- Blackening
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(Location in poem: Line 3: “Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sheep in Fog”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sheep in Fog” Speaker
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“Sheep in Fog” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sheep in Fog”
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More “Sheep in Fog” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poet's Life and Legacy — A biography of Plath from the Poetry Foundation.
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The Poem Read Aloud — Listen to a recording of the poem.
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Plath's Horseback Riding Lessons — A blogpost from Gail Crowther, a researcher who specializes in Plath, about the farm that partially inspired both "Sheep in Fog" and "Ariel."
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"Crash Course" Introduction to Plath's Work — Author John Green talks about Plath's work for his web series, Crash Course Literature.
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A Glimpse at Plath's Revision Process — An auction listing for draft revisions of "Sheep in Fog," which discusses the significance of being able to peek into the poet's revision process at this pivotal point in her life.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Sylvia Plath
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