 As we read this poem, we can feel emotions, and also see that there is a person that is being described in this poem.  After analysis of the poem and careful research of Sylvia Plath’s background, we deduce that, You’re, is a poem about the emotions during her pregnancy and also, a description of her unborn baby.

 There is no clear pattern in this poem, meaning there is not a fixed amount of syllables in this poem. Most of the lines have either 8 or 7 syllables with the exception of one or two that consist of 6.  Each line is a description of the baby or the poet’s emotions during this pregnancy  The poem itself is one continuous flow of description, as its not separated by paragraphs

 There are a few literary devices used in this poem.  They include: › Enjambment › Similes and Metaphors

 Enjambment is a literary technique in which, usually, the last word is then used to start the next sentence. This this case, the title itself is an enjambment.  You’re › “ Clownlike, happiest on your hands, feet to the stars and moon skulled” › “ Gilled like a fish.”  This is used to add emphasis on the fact that there are a lot of emotions that she feels and that there are so many various things that her baby is.

 Similes and metaphors, in this poem, are used to allow the poet to fully convey her feelings in a way that the reader would be able to understand. “Like a sprat in a pickle jug ”  Plath was emphasizing the fact that the womb in which the baby was in, was very small, and also, at that time, the baby was not very old, she tells us that it was small. Sprat is a very small fish representing how small the baby was The pickle jug is a small space, also filled with preservatives to keep the pickles fresh.

“ Snug as a bud ”  Plath uses this metaphor to tell the reader about her baby and how it was very cozy and had everything that it needed to grow the word snug tells us that the baby was very cozy inside the womb A bud is a growing shoot and get its food and nutrients from the soil. This shows that the baby is like a bud it receives nutrients and food from the mother.

 The poet use’s certain words in places to create the desired effect. “…and moon-skulled.”  The word moon-skulled has negative connotations. Since the moon in seen in the night and the night is dark and mysterious, this could mean that the baby is mysterious but also show the fear felt by the poet. The fear of losing this baby.

“looked for like mail”  Mail is sought after everyday. Everyone goes out to the mailbox to check for mail. In the context of pregnancy, looked for like mail means that the poet looked at herself in the mirror and waited everyday for her baby. Shows that she cant wait to have her child.

“ Mute as a turnip from the Fourth, Of July to All Fool’s Day ”  The person described is “mute” which would mean that the person cannot speak.  There is a specified time period which comes to about 9 months. This is another reason that backs up the meaning on this poem, in the previous slides.

 The tone of this poem is very clear to the audience. There is excitement mixed with a hint of fear. “looked for like mail”  There is excitement here, that she cannot wait until she has her child. We can see this through the use of language as explained in the previous slides.

 There is also fear in this poem. “Trawling your dark as owls do”  The word “dark” has negative connotations such as hell, bad times, the unknown. She is scared for the baby, since the inside is an unknown area and in the dark anything may happen, and shes scared something may happen to her unborn child.