What does sylvia plaths metaphors mean

Sylvia Plath She mocks herself and her condition of her own pregnancy. All these metaphors show her little concern over pregnancy. Opposite to normal woman she is not excited, happy with upcoming baby. With the implications of these three metaphors, she boldly says she lacks maternal feeling which is, in general, natural during the period of gestation.

The conflict and confusion between the duty of a mother and feeling of individuality is a notable theme of this short poem. The speaker is found to have great fear of losing her individuality while performing the role of a mother. The nine lines correspond to the nine months of pregnancy, and each line possesses nine syllables. Plath was pregnant with her first child, Frieda, at the time of the poem's composition.

Though most critics concur that Plath's healthiest relationships in life were with her two children, the poem suggests a deep ambivalence about motherhood. The basic conflict is the poem is that of duty vs. The narrator feels that by subsuming herself to the duty of motherhood, her own individuality is being stifled. Though the poem uses consistent first person, the ironic effect is that the speaker's individuality is only expressed in terms of the child she carries.

She is aware of herself, but only in terms of what she cannot be. While some of the poem's images are rather humorous - she describes a pregnant woman as "a melon strolling on two tendrils," for instance - the overall depiction of pregnancy is not very heartening.

The woman, whom readers should assume is Plath herself, is discouraged by her physical appearance. She feels large and unwieldy, comparing herself to an elephant, a "cow in calf," and a "ponderous house.

Instead, she is too well-aware of how she has lost control of her body. She lacks individuality, and is instead only a "means" and a "stage" for another. Everything happening to her is for someone else, not for herself. The house introduces the idea of safety, of domestic space, the cosy home.

This is a bizarre and comical image, conjuring up vivid pictures of a rounded, swollen stomach casually strolling along on two thin leg-like appendages. Plant tendrils often grow in spiral form, climbing up and clinging on; and the fruit carries the seed like the ovary , so the whole sentence is full of natural fertility so to speak. The first three lines are summed up in melodramatic fashion - the melon is a water melon echoes of waters breaking at the end of pregnancy , red just like blood; the ivory relates to the elephant, being of high value and only available when the elephant has died; fine timbers are what hold up the roof of well built houses, the strongest wood being oak.

When the dough is kneaded and ready for prooving it's left to one side in a warm place to rise. Often this means a doubling in size of the dough. Then of course the final baking takes place in the oven. Colloquially in the UK having a 'bun in the oven' means that someone is with child. This metaphor is more traditional and wholesome and has no comical side-effect, unlike the melon in line three.

The child is the new money, the mother's large stomach the purse, holding the precious currency of life.

Having a full purse means that there's sufficient wealth held so it's of great value. The last of four lines with end stop punctuation, suggesting a completeness. The speaker refers to being a means, a means to an end; something done to produce a result.

And that result will be the birth of a child. Hopefully the mother will keep her inherent value and not feel as if she were simply a carrier, a vessel - once the child is born the mother won't feel empty or worthless. A stage - a part in a process or a stage on which to perform? Probably the former. The speaker is in the early stages of pregnancy, as the saying goes, and is therefore an integral part of the process of growth. Again, the speaker sees herself as an animal, a large one, a cow.

Pregnant cows are particularly heavy, with swollen stomach, udders and wide strange gait. This mother feels that she is a cow in calf. Why green apples? Does that mean they're unripe, unlike red apples? Is it when she first finds out that she is pregnant; when she feels the first kick; or when she first holds the beautiful newborn she has dreamt so much about? In speaking with many mothers, both within my own family, as well as on the postpartum unit, I have come to the conclusion that there are many different variables and steps for each woman to finally attain the motherhood role.

These steps may include, finding out she is pregnant, feeling a kick or hearing a heartbeat during the pregnancy or prenatal visits, as well as finally holding…. According to Lindsey and Driskill , 10 percent or 6. Its main causes are issues related to ovulation, fallopian tubes, uterus, and uterine fibroids. Lindsey and Driskill want health care professionals to understand the psychological and emotional difficulties that women face with infertility, which is considered a complicated and stressful matter.

Lindsey and Driskill suggest that when it comes to becoming a mother, for most women it is a lifelong dream and they believe it is an inevitable achievement, which determines their purpose in life. If for some reason this attainment is unfulfillable, then feelings of sorrow and lack of success have an immense influence on…. The article starts off by explaining exactly what menstruation is. The authors go into detail about when a girl can expect to have her first menstrual period and what changes the body might go through during this time.

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The first ten lines are in couplets, after which the rhyme scheme becomes irregular.