Metaphors By Sylvia Plath Analysis

Sylvia Plath’s“Metaphors” conveys an understanding of the stages of maturity (1) when dealing with new challenges (2), which is a key element in the development of empathy (3).
In the first three lines, Plath conveys physical maturity through noticing how different changes and risks differ one’s outlook on life. Sylvia was pregnant at the time she wrote the poem and the words and grammatical usage suggest that this poem was about her and her internal struggles. The first line starts with the contraction “I’m a”(1), suggesting that the poem is not formal writing, thereby hinting that the experience she is trying to convey is at a coloquial status of the audience. The “a” in “I’m a”(1) foreshadows the use of a simple metaphor, which connotes physical maturity through noticing one’s surroundings. The simple metaphor additionally expands with the inconspicuous word

The word nine is the first hint that Plath is pregnant. Pregnancy normally lasts nine months and Plath notices that and sees that there are tough times and moments ahead. This theme is reinforced through having nine syllables per line and nine lines in total. In the second line the woman is noticing how different she looks when she says “[a]n elephant, a ponderous house”(2), both burdens to take care of. They are big, need to have a lot of money put into their necessities, and take up a lot of one’s time. The personification in “ponderous house” (2) especially conveys that the woman feels like she has too much responsibility, is slow, clumsy, and that being pregnant is laborious. Furthermore, the elephant and the house is very mature, because traditionally an elephant is a symbol of maturity and a house is also mature, for when young adults are finally mature, they move into their own house. In addition, the woman also says that she is “a melon strolling on two tendrils” (3). The melon could suggest that her belly is as huge as a melon, while her legs are small and stick-like. The environmental