Sylvia Plath's Morning Song Poem Analysis
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Questions and Answers

What literary device is used to showcase adulation for the new child?

  • Metaphor
  • Simile (correct)
  • Alliteration
  • Personification

What does the poem 'Morning Song' explore besides the celebration of Frieda's birth?

  • The theme of old age and death
  • The theme of womanhood and motherhood (correct)
  • The theme of friendship and love
  • The theme of war and violence

What is the central theme underlying the poem?

  • The fleeting nature of youth
  • The power of maternal instinct
  • The speaker's struggle with her own identity (correct)
  • The challenges of motherhood

What does the 'moth-breath' imagery in the poem convey?

<p>The gentle and delicate nature of the child's presence (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the 'flat pink roses' in the poem?

<p>They represent the child's innocence and purity (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the speaker's self-depiction in the 'Victorian nightgown' convey?

<p>Her candid acceptance of her bodily changes (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Morning Song Themes

Poem explores parental joy and anxiety, evolving maternal identity, challenges of womanhood, and the impact of a new baby.

Figurative Language (Plath)

Plath uses similes, metaphors, and conceits to create vivid imagery and explore complex feelings.

Tercets

Each stanza has three lines.

Caesura

Pause within lines to emphasize meaning and create reflection.

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"Love set you going like a fat gold watch"

Warm simile comparing the baby's arrival to the precise movement of a watch.

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"Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue."

Metaphor emphasizing the infant's significance and the parents' reverence/ anxiety.

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"I'm no more your mother Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow Effacement at the wind's hand."

Profound conceit showcasing the shift in maternal identity and the fluidity of self.

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Imagery (Morning Song)

Plath uses sensory details (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) for emotional impact.

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Poem Structure (Morning Song)

Uses a tercet structure, carefully placed caesura, and imagery to create a dynamic tone.

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Study Notes

Morning Song by Sylvia Plath

Themes and Ideas

  • Celebration of Frieda's birth and the effect of a child's birth on parents
  • Maternal love and womanhood
  • Feminine identity and insecurity
  • Consideration of new life and identity changes

Style

  • Expert use of figurative language (simile, metaphor, conceit)
  • Every stanza is a tercet (three lines)
  • Carefully placed caesura for reflection
  • Imagery (auditory, visual, kinesthetic)

Key Quotes and Analysis

  • "Love set you going like a fat gold watch" - Original painterly simile, warm and inclusive sentiment
  • "Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue." - Comparing the baby to a "new statue", reverential parents, anxiety
  • "I'm no more your mother Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow Effacement at the wind's hand." - Profound conceit, theme of identity change, "effacement" of old self
  • "All night your moth-breath Flickers among the flat pink roses." - Maternal instinct, kinesthetic imagery, delicacy
  • "One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral In my Victorian nightgown." - Honest self-depiction, candid maternal image
  • "Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try Your handful of notes;" - Euphonic assonance, love for daughter, gifting a joyous start to womanhood

Morning Song by Sylvia Plath

Themes and Ideas

  • Celebration of Frieda's birth and the effect of a child's birth on parents
  • Maternal love and womanhood
  • Feminine identity and insecurity
  • Consideration of new life and identity changes

Style

  • Expert use of figurative language (simile, metaphor, conceit)
  • Every stanza is a tercet (three lines)
  • Carefully placed caesura for reflection
  • Imagery (auditory, visual, kinesthetic)

Key Quotes and Analysis

  • "Love set you going like a fat gold watch" - Original painterly simile, warm and inclusive sentiment
  • "Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue." - Comparing the baby to a "new statue", reverential parents, anxiety
  • "I'm no more your mother Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow Effacement at the wind's hand." - Profound conceit, theme of identity change, "effacement" of old self
  • "All night your moth-breath Flickers among the flat pink roses." - Maternal instinct, kinesthetic imagery, delicacy
  • "One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral In my Victorian nightgown." - Honest self-depiction, candid maternal image
  • "Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try Your handful of notes;" - Euphonic assonance, love for daughter, gifting a joyous start to womanhood

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Delve into the world of poetry with this quiz on Sylvia Plath's Morning Song, exploring its themes, style, and literary devices.

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