“Morning Song” Sylvia Plath Pg. 181

“Morning Song” Read the text General class discussion – first impressions. Content of poem Language Themes

Pre-reading Context: Plath wrote this poem ten months after the birth of her first baby, Frieda in April 1960 ….. And just two weeks after suffering a miscarriage in February 1961.

Content: Morning Song “Morning Song” is a counter-balance to “Child”. Here we have Plath the mother, rejoicing and celebrating the wonder of birth. The poem is split in half in terms of tone/mood. First half: helpless, insecure and aloof from her child (emotion which can be associated both with miscarriage and the early stages of motherhood) Second half: warmer, more secure relationship is depicted.

Content: Verse One This positive opening shows Plath at her best (mentally), her happiest. It is a rich image and “Love” opens this wonderful poem. She compares her crying newborn baby to a “fat gold watch” – suggestive of the baby’s plumpness and how precious she is to Plath.

Content: Verse Two The new parents talk of the baby’s arrival, “magnifying it” which can refer to both the boasting of their child and how enormous the responsibility is that the parents now face. The location is a “draughty museum” – a cold, clinical place where the child is on display. Hospital has negative associations for mother? [Child is still seen as a rare and precious being – placed in a museum]

The actions of the parents are filled with uncertainty – “We stand round blankly as walls”. They don’t know what to say. They are overwhelmed by the new life. They are emotional about the miscarriage they both experienced.

Content: Verse Three “I’m no more your mother” -reference to the child she lost -reference to her living daughter: “I’m no more your mother/Than the cloud...” – compares the complex relationship between mother and child to that between a cloud and a pool of water. The cloud produces the water that forms a pool, and the pool, in turn, reflects the cloud.

Therefore, the mother makes the child and the child reflects the mother (physically, socially etc.) A child is a mirror image of its mother, but not a permanent one. As a cloud is slowly changed in shape by the wind, so too do the mother and child change shape. The child becomes her own person.

Content: Verse Four  “All night” : the duties of motherhood Second half of the poem sees Plath more comfortable in her mother-role. She is constantly aware of the child’s breathing (possibly in fear of cot-death?) “Moth-breath” = fluttering of child’s breathing

“flat pink roses” resemble the child’s delicate mouth and also symbolise maternal warmth.

Content:Verse Five This verse shows Plath, again, addressing the realities of motherhood. “One cry” sees a mother jumping from her bed to attend to her child – demanding motherhood, no more time to stare at blank walls! Humorous description of herself in her “floral…nightgown”. She is “cow-heavy” = nursing/breast-feeding the child which signifies a bond, closeness.

Content: Verse Six Dawn is breaking as it “whitens” outside the window The baby’s first “bald cry” is now transformed into a “handful of notes” – Plath is not apprehensive anymore of the cry – she sees it as music to her ears. Image of “balloons” – celebratory image to finish on as it suggests the joy and celebration of childhood. The great festival of life has begun for both mother and child and is a rare high moment for Plath!

Language Descriptive language – LOTS of imagery. The birth of her child (and the happiness it gave her) seemed to inspire her as a poet. Direct and inclusive language: she speaks to the child Written in tercets (3 lines) The magnificent simile that opens the poem shows Plath at her best (mentally), her happiest. It is a rich image of love.

Imagery: In the first half of the poem the images she uses are often cold, stark and dark. The child’s cry is “bald” [harsh], the hospital is a museum [clinical] which captures her anxiety about becoming a new mother. Image of mother reflecting child is N.B. This begins their bond. Imagery in second half of the poem is warm, maternal and celebratory – she has come to terms with her new role!

“shadows” (V.2) = dark uncertainty… Use of COLOUR = N.B.!!! Plath’s use of colour: “shadows” (V.2) = dark uncertainty… versus “gold” [universal colour of wealth and good health] “pink” [universal colour of love...] “whitens” [universal colour of purity and innocence].