Prasal Rohra

Grade 11 (2008-2009) English SL

August 2008
Term one - Assignment one

Poet: Sylvia Plath

Poems: Metaphors and Stillborn

Q-2 Examine in detail how the poet presents emotional experiences in the
poems you have studies?

Sylvia Plath’s “Metaphors” and Stillborn convey the experiences and

emotions felt by Sylvia Plath as a mother during her journey of motherhood.
Below I will be comparing and contrasting the ways in which Sylvia Plath
has used imagery and poetic techniques to convey her feelings towards her
reader.

“Metaphors” is a poem which describes Sylvia Plath’s physical as well as

mental state while she was pregnant. The poem’s structure is very closely
connected to the number nine, which signifies the nine month gestation
period. The title itself consists of nine alphabets. The poem consists of nine
lines with nine syllables in each line and the first line starting with the ninth
alphabet, i.e. “I”. The use of this structure gives an idea of the poem being
about pregnancy and motherhood.

This poem has various metaphors which depict the physical state of a mother
during pregnancy, such as “an elephant, ponderous house, melon on two
tendrils, the loaf’s big with yeasty rising”. The metaphors “an elephant, a
ponderous house” show her ‘enlarged’ physical state, furthermore, the
“ponderous house” could also suggest that her body is the house of her
unborn child where all the necessities for it to survive are provided. The
word “ponderous” could also signify the feeling of curiosity that a mother
would have about her child during pregnancy. The third metaphor used is “a
melon strolling on two tendrils”. This metaphor also depicts her physical
image wherein the melon is a symbol for the baby and the tendrils for the
mother’s legs, however, it could also suggest the discomfort a mother faces
while carrying a baby on her ‘weak’ legs. The metaphor “loaf’s big with
yeasty rising” also conveys her physical, ‘bloated’ state.
 Prasal Rohra

Metaphors such as “red fruit, ivory, fine timbers” are used to describe the
feelings felt by Sylvia Plath for her child. The child is compared to the ripe
fruit inside the melon. Since the mother feels like “an elephant”, the child is
the valuable thing obtained from an elephant, i.e. “ivory”. A relation could
also be made between the mother feeling like a “ponderous house” and the
child being compared to “fine timber”, which could be the finely crafted
furniture in the house, implying how beautiful and fine the child’s body is.
Other metaphors used such as “Money’s new minted in this fat purse” and
“I’m a means, a stage, a cow in calf” give away the feelings a mother has for
her newborn child. According to the metaphor- “Money’s new minted in this
fat purse”, the poet is probably trying to convey to the readers that the child
is like an imprint of the mother which could mean that the baby looks a lot
like the mother. Another meaning of this metaphor could be that the child is
compared to money because money is the symbol for pride, status and value.
This metaphor could also mean that the mother expects the child to be as
accepted and loved by the world as money is. The other metaphor, “I’m a
means, a stage, a cow in calf” could mean that the mother is a medium of
bringing the child into the world. She is a platform on which the baby grows
and learns the ways of life. The metaphor “cow in calf” could relate to the
phrase that a child gives birth to a mother. This would mean that a mother’s
responsibility is felt only after her child is born. However, this metaphor
could also have a negative connotation. It probably suggests that the mother
is ‘used’ to obtain a child. The work of a woman is to give birth and
maintain the continuity of the family.

The metaphor “I’ve eaten a bag of green apples” could refer to the cravings
a mother goes through during pregnancy where often sour tastes are
preferred. The last metaphor “boarded the train there’s no getting off”
portrays mixed emotions. One could interpret it as the journey of
motherhood, where the mother is excited about her responsibilities of her
baby and that this journey will take her to the final destination of a strong
mother-child bond. Another interpretation could be that the mother is
regretting the fact that she is pregnant, but there is no turning back. By
comparing pregnancy to the train journey, Sylvia Plath probably tries to
convey the idea that like a train journey leads to a predetermined destination,
motherhood will also lead her to the role of a mother, which is inexorable.
The child will be bound to her for the rest of her life and irrespective of her
mental state; this major responsibility will be hers.
 Prasal Rohra

On the other hand, “Stillborn” metaphorically represents her poems, which

in her perception were perfect, yet failed to appeal to the audience. The
metaphor of a stillborn child is used to convey to the readers the ‘lifeless’
poetry she has written which is introduced in the first line of the poem
“These poems do not live: it's a sad diagnosis”. By comparing the act of
giving birth to a child and the creation of a new poem, Sylvia Plath probably
tries to convey that she feels the same emotions, that of excitement,
happiness and love while she writes new poems, just as she would have felt
while giving birth to a child.

According to the metaphors used, Sylvia Plath conveys to the readers that
her poems were perfect in structure and technique, “They grew their toes and
fingers well enough” and “They are proper in shape and number and every
part” yet they failed to attract the readers. Another comparison to a fetus is
“little foreheads bulged with concentration” which could signify her own
brain, which was filled with concentration while writing her poems, resulted
in ‘unattractive’ poems. The reason why Sylvia Plath is so disgusted by the
response her poems have got is probably because she had worked extremely
hard for writing her poems “It wasn’t for any lack in mother-love”. The lines
“They smile and smile and smile at me. And still the lungs won't fill and the
heart won't start” Is used to emphasize on the fact that her hard work is
noticed by her, but since the poems are dead and ‘stillborn’, their “smiles”
will not act as a charm anymore.

“Stillborn” also portrays the change of opinions of Sylvia Plath towards her
poetry, which is depicted in the form of a change from first person “I cannot
explain what happened to them!” to third person “They are proper in shape
and number and every part”.

This poem metaphorically represents the emotions of grief in Sylvia Plath’s

mind not because of her of producing a stillborn child, but the experience of
writing stillborn poems. Another observation made is that due to the lack of
acceptance of her poems, Sylvia Plath is getting disinterested and probably
giving up on writing poems due to the frustration and grief, like a “mother
near dead with distraction” after producing a stillborn child.

Both the poems included “O” before a certain line, which signifies the
expression of extreme emotions, as in “metaphors” (“O red fruit, ivory, fine
timbers!”) , which symbolizes passion and love and as in “stillborn” (“O I
 Prasal Rohra

cannot explain what happened to them!”), which symbolizes extreme

emotions of repugnance, frustration and uncertainty.

The conclusion of the analysis is that Sylvia Plath’s opinion of motherhood

is more inclined towards negativity, which can be observed by her
descriptions of a mother during pregnancy, which suggests unattractiveness,
loss of beauty and free time however this also suggests that Sylvia Plath had
a very different point of view to that of any other mother who relate to
motherhood in a rather positive outlook.