Sylvia Plath "Metaphors"

Sylvia Plath has been one of my favorite poets ever since High School, when I was introduced to the poem titled “Daddy”. Most of her writing is somewhat dark in a sense and she speaks about matters which may be considered too controversial for younger students. Personally, I appreciate the fact that Plath was not afraid to step out of the norm and introduce reality to poetry. However, her poem titled “Metaphors” shies away from the dark, gloomy world Plath describes in most of her poetry and brings upon laughter which is very much opposite from the feel readers get from poems like “Daddy”. Even though “Metaphors” takes a different route with the way Plath chooses to convey its message, she still stays true to her poetry and shows her reader the dark side of something which society sees as wonderful.
The poem is simply about pregnancy but the language and use of metaphors in the poem creates an inviting atmosphere where the reader is so intrigued by the imaginative words that it is hard not to smile when reading. However, it is important to note that some of the imaginary does not sound so pleasing. She describes the speaker in various ways, but mostly through sarcastic and self demeaning metaphors. Portraying pregnancy, Plath writes, “A melon strolling on two tendrils” (3). This image is not so pleasing and perhaps the speaker is not as excited about pregnancy as most people would expect her to be. The poem is about the subversion of women, what is expected of them by society, and how women fight against it. Plath takes a topic which society sees as pure and life fulfilling, and describes the desolate side which society fails to acknowledge. “Boarded the train there’s no getting off” shows the burden that the speaker sees as pregnancy (9). Humorous, but severe as well, this poem possesses its own approach to a topic which may be do differently viewed.