Morning Song

1. Morning Song Sylvia Plath

2. Sylvia Plath • Born on October 27, 1932 in Boston • Her father died a couple weeks after her eighth birthday • She attended Smith College where she began to show signs of serious depression and attempted to kill herself • She married Ted Hughes, a famous poet who was later accused of abuse • Had two kids, Frieda Rebecca and Nicholas Farrar, but suffered a miscarriage in 1961 • Around 1962, her husband left her for another woman • On February 11, 1963 she committed suicide by placing her head inside an oven

3. Morning Song Love set you going like a fat gold watch.The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cryTook its place among the elements.Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.In a drafty museum, your nakednessShadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.I'm no more your motherThan the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slowEffacement at the wind's hand.

4. Morning Song All night your moth-breathFlickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:A far sea moves in my ear.One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floralIn my Victorian nightgown.Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window squareWhitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you tryYour handful of notes;The clear vowels rise like balloons.

5. Musical Version of Morning Song • http://www.johnmitchell.org/morning.mp3

6. Poem’s Organization • Six tercets • Free verse

7. The Speaker • A mother who recently gave birth • She’s in the process of caring for her baby, which requires a significant amount of time and energy • Despite this, the mother appears genuinely devoted to her child • She’s undergoing post partum depression

8. The Speaker – Sylvia Plath • Due to her numerous autobiographical poems, it can safely be assumed that Plath is the speaker • As a mother of two, she has experience as a mother • Her miscarriage most likely instilled a sense of unhappiness regarding her view of childbirth

9. The Speaker’s Attitude Towards the Subject • Initially, the speaker acts as if she is almost indifferent towards the subject (the newborn child) because he seems inhuman • Eventually, her indifference turns to annoyance at the child’s needs, but the baby’s first words reinforce her love of the child and are somewhat uplifting

10. First Stanza • This is the only stanza in past tense, all other stanzas are in present tense and thus refer to present actions • “Love set you going like a fat gold watch • The baby is born, he is given a kickstart on life through “love” • The birth is compared to a gold, seemingly wonderful watch being wound and set for life • The gold watch symbolizes the mechanical and inhuman nature of the child “The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry/Took its place among the elements.” • The baby is thrust into life by the jolt of a midwife, and his existence in the universe is now complete because of the cry

11. Second Stanza “Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival” • As the baby is coming out, the parents begin to get excited in approach of the birth • “New statue.” • The Speaker compares the baby to a statue, indicating how impersonal she feels towards the child • “In a drafty museum, your nakednessShadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.” • The hospital is referred to as a sterile museum • The nakedness of the baby reassures the parents as they can take comfort in their clothes • The blank stare of the adults shows how distant they are

12. Third Stanza • “I'm no more your mother/Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow/Effacement at the wind's hand.” • This stanza begins to hint at post partum depression; the mother loses her sense of closeness towards the child • The speaker feels that the child will serve as a mirror to the mother’s own life as it slowly disappears

13. Fourth Stanza • “All night your moth-breath/Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:/A far sea moves in my ear.” • The “moth-breath” identifies the baby’s delicacy • The “far sea” is a metaphor for the child’s constant noise; the mother is always listening for any kind of distress

14. Fifth Stanza • “One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral/In my Victorian nightgown.” • “Cow-heavy” refers to the post-birth weight of the mother and demonstrates how difficult it is to get up from bed • This shows the mother’s true devotion • “Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square” • The comparison of the baby to an animal is another instance of the child appearing impersonal • The open mouth indicates the baby’s hunger

15. Sixth Stanza • “Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try/Your handful of notes;/The clear vowels rise like balloons.” • As the dull stars are swallowed, day breaks and the baby begins to speak • This stanza represents a huge shift from previous lines; the poem appears almost uplifting in comparing the baby’s first noises to balloons

16. Diction and Syntax • The wording is simple yet the phrasing appears precise and formal • The exception to his is the phrase “cow-heavy”, which is used to demonstrate the uncomfortable nature of the mother • The diction changes throughout the poem; while describing the birth the speaker uses bleak adjectives such as “drafty” and “bald” • As the speaker narrates her life with the child, she begins to use slightly more pleasant language • In stanzas four and five she uses floral language to describe her nightgown and her baby’s breath

17. Diction and Syntax • Although most stanzas are comprised of sentences, nearly the entire poem is told through metaphors and similes; it’s not entirely straightforward

18. Imagery • Until the last stanza, the speaker employs a variety of melancholy images including a statue-like description of her child and a comparison of motherhood to the “slow effacement” of a cloud • While describing the baby’s noises, Plath uses balloon imagery to convey optimism

19. Conclusions • The title refers to the last stanza of the poem, in which the baby’s first “clear vowels” are spoke after a difficult night with his mother • As a whole, the poem deals with a mother’s relationship with her child • After giving birth and caring for the child, she is finally rewarded with the “Morning Song,” namely the baby’s first attempt at speech

20. Love set you going like a fat gold watch.The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cryTook its place among the elements.Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.In a drafty museum, your nakednessShadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.I'm no more your motherThan the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slowEffacement at the wind's hand. All night your moth-breathFlickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:A far sea moves in my ear.One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floralIn my Victorian nightgown.Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window squareWhitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you tryYour handful of notes;The clear vowels rise like balloons. The Poem Again

21. Bibliography • "Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) - Pseudonym Victoria Lucas." Books and Writers. 2000. 28 Apr. 2008 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/splath.htm>. • (biography) • http://www.swisseduc.ch/english/readinglist/plath_sylvia/icons/plath.jpg • (picture)