A Coversation Among The Ruins: An Analysis

'A conversation among the ruins' is a sonnet penned by Sylvia Plath. The ekphrastic write-up was published in the year 1956- the year in which Plath met Hughes. It is based on the 1927 work of  Giorgio de Chirico; an oil on canvas called 'conversation among the ruins'. The following analysis is only an idiosyncratic analysis; completely non-academic in nature.

Analysis

The sonnet by Plath is divided into two stanzas the first stanza of which seems to be heavily influenced by the Giorgios' work. But the second stanza transitions the theme to a more emotive or spiritual state.

In the first stanza, Plath, in coherence with the painting describes how the lover of the protagonist 'with wild furies' stalks her which indicates the passion of the man for the lady. The ardor of the male figure has been romanticized by the female figure in Plath's poem who seems to admire the zeal. The lover's passion eventually breaks 'the rich order of walls' as till now his love was subjected to the 'portico' of his adored's house. With the protagonist who is swayed by her lover, she is spellbound. The lady who is "in love" compares her then present sentiments to that of a daunting witch who flees the castles when the real days break; liberating herself of the usually prevailing bounds.
However,
the Second Stanza is more than just a ripple in the romantic fiction of Plath where she writes as the lead woman of how the pillars which were ruins of the her lover's passion now frame not his adoration but prospects of rock. While the male, as also seen in the painting, is observed hovering over the lady who wears a Grecian tunic and a psyche-knot, the lady sits rather composed. The imagery of the poem suggests that the scene has now turned to that of tragedy as the early picture which the lady painted of her lover exists no more. His looks have turned 'black' symbolizing the male's negative aspect and his existing state of bring now lacks the qualities of what is now the past.
Plath writes "With such blight wrought on your bankrupt estate" to convey that the present-self of the lover seems to be cursed.
Concluding with "What ceremony of words can patch this havoc?" the protagonist who expresses the tragedy exclaims if there are any words which can resume her relationship with her lover back to the one she talks about in the first stanza; presenting the current state of their being as 'havoc'.

Footnote:

Conversation among the ruins by Girogio de Chirico dated 1927.
Medium: oil on canvas

The painting by Giorgio which has formed for Plath's publication is coherent to her adaptation of it.  Giorgio has while painted the figures inside of a structure which seems to be that a house, he hasn't painted the walls of the structure; hence the what would have been the external surroundings if the house existed are now seen running across the paraphernalia depicted. The relevance of which is to create a sense of uneasiness and convey disturbance of the scene to the viewer.
Inside the painting, a portrait of a Greek god hangs on the pillar right behind the figure of man, a possible indication of the expectations of the woman who is, awaiting her Greek god, dressed in Grecian tunics while a man with now 'black looks' hover around her. Amalgamating the mythological relevance of the 'psyche-not', psyche being cupids' beloved who after her struggles as a mortal finally reunited with her lover, the lady in the Grecian tunic also awaits the union of her ethereal lover and herself.

References:
 http://english.fju.edu.tw/lctd/asp/works/60/study.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/catr.html