Write a critical appreciation of the poem “Morning Song.”

Answer

Write a critical appreciation of the poem “Morning Song.” [NU: 2015]

Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) wrote “Morning Song” in 1961 after the birth of her first child, Frieda. It was later published in her collection Ariel (1965). The poem is about a mother’s feelings after the birth of her child. It does not present only happy feelings. It also presents the strangeness, distance, and confusion of a new mother. Let us now critically appreciate the poem. 

Morning Song—A Mother’s Mixed Feelings: “Morning Song” begins with the baby’s birth. The mother says,

“Love set you going like a fat gold watch.”

Here, the baby’s life is compared to a watch that starts ticking. She also says the baby is a “New statue.” These images suggest her sense of detachment from the baby. She sees the baby as a beautiful, lifeless object. It means she is still unable to connect with the baby emotionally. In the third stanza, she expresses her feelings of distance. She says she does not fully feel like the baby’s mother.

“I’m no more your mother

Than the cloud that distills a mirror…”

She compares herself to a cloud that slowly disappears in the wind. It shows her sense of disconnection from the baby. She slowly begins to feel wonder and connection with her child. She admires the baby’s small breaths and cries. She calls it “moth-breath.” She lies awake and listens to her baby’s breath. She compares the breath to the sound of “a far sea” in her ear, calm and continuous. As she says:

“…I wake to listen:

A far sea moves in my ear.”

In the fifth stanza, the baby cries. She gets up quickly and goes to the baby. In the final stanza, the baby makes little sounds. She calls it the baby’s “handful of notes.” These small cries rise like