I decided to do some four levels on the chapters from English II, Second Semester, BBA, TU, as I received several requests to post more of ’em, and I liked to save some of my old notes! So here’s one for you young boys and girls: Analysis or Four Levels of Metaphors by Sylvia Plath. (FYI: She committed suicide baking her head inside the oven. Sick!) Thank me later!
Four Levels of Metaphors by Sylvia Plath
1. Literal Comprehension (Summary)
The beginning of the poem is somewhat playful and even exciting. The speaker is a pregnant woman and she takes herself as a mystery as she has no idea about the baby inside her womb, say its sex, color, hereditary characteristics, and bunch others. She calls herself an elephant as she has become big and round. She compares herself to a ponderous house, filled with a baby or some activities. She regards herself as a melon, and her two legs the tendrils. She considers the baby residing inside her belly as precious as ivory and hopes for the good of the unborn baby.
The state of the poem then changes to that of doubt and gloom. She calls her baby a loaf that seems to be rising because of the yeast. Likewise, she feels herself as a fat purse, with newly minted money inside as the baby, which will be new to the world when born. Then the mood of the poem shifts to extreme desperation and a lot of negativity. She feels that she is just a means for the baby to come through into the world. She is a stage. She admits that she has eaten a bag of green apples. The poem ends dramatically stating that there is no turning back now from this state of pregnancy.
2. Interpretation
The poem seems to have a very negative connotation in aggregate. Plath has used metaphorical language (maybe she is a lady version of Eminem) and a poem with nine sentences with nine syllables, each to symbolize the entire nine months of pregnancy. This implies that it takes nine months after conception for a baby to be born. The thought of a melon strolling on two tendrils can be closely associated with the pregnancy as the structure of pair of fallopian tubes, where the baby develops in one of them, unless of course, you are expecting twins, triplets, or even quadruplets.
Her plight of being a stage where a performance is taking place hints that she fears of being deserted (or forgotten) after it is over. The bag of green apples shows biblical reference: Forbidden fruit to Adam and Eve (First they were naked, and everything went wrong then after). Also the green apples may symbolize unripened or the feelings of the speaker as not being ready for the pregnancy. She is going to lose her freedom.
3. Critical Thinking
I must say, the ability of Plath to describe the entire period of pregnancy using metaphors and limiting the poem in just nine sentences is just f***!ng awesome (Uh oh, what did I write!?) But she ain’t no God (I am beginning to sound like a nigga). Her poem is not free from loopholes. Irrespective to the time when this poem was composed, nowadays the modern technology has enabled us to disclose the gender of the baby inside the womb. Plus, she has overlooked the exceptional cases of pregnancy like giving birth to baby in less (or more) than nine months. The speaker isn’t clear about the number of children she had given birth to. Is it her first pregnancy or she is used to it? Is she a single mother?
Comparing the unborn baby with loaf and dough (money) is inhumane. The latter of these two comparisons reveal the intention of the speaker behind giving birth to the baby, i.e. He or she will support her financially in the future. Besides, if she is unhappy with being pregnant, it’s her own fault. She should have thought of it beforehand (or before s€x). It will have been better if she has used contraceptive while having intercourse with the to-be-daddy of the to-be-born-baby.
Still after the conception, she can get an abortion, provided that it is legal to have one. So technically, this poem seems to be anachronous. Plath seems to concentrate on the symptoms and things that happened to her during the pregnancy rather than the fact that she is bringing another life into the world.
4. Assimilation
After reading this poem, I “asked” Google about Sylvia Plath. I came to know that she committed suicide, baking her own head inside the burning hot oven till death (Wow, that’s daring). Well, what I learned from this poem is obvious, isn’t it? Now I know that what it feels like to be pregnant and walk around with a baby inside… psychologically though, not physiologically. I came to know that it actually takes nine months for a baby to be born. The pregnant women like to eat sour things to overcome morning sickness. I feel pity for the destiny of pregnant women that they will be forgotten and will lose their after giving birth to the baby. One thing after reading this poem… I am proud to be a man! No offense!
That’s it!
But before you go, if you are having a hard time getting control of your life, you should kick start your life again. Don’t be a rat. The problem with the rat race is that even if you win the race, you’ll still be a rat. Read an inspirational article here: Quit that Rat Race!
