Morning Song : Literary devices

Literary devices

Figures of Speech 

Simile

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things, generally using like or as.

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

Here, the baby’s life is compared to a watch starting to tick. The baby’s life is beginning like the tick of a watch.

We find another simile in stanza 5. “Your mouth opens clean as a cat’s.”

Here, the poet compares the baby’s mouth to a cat’s mouth. It shows that the baby’s mouth is clean and fresh.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is directly compared to another without using like or as.

Example: “Your handful of notes;”

Here, the poet compares the baby’s first sounds or cries to musical notes.

Another example is “New statue.” Here, Plath says the baby is a new statue. This comparison shows that the baby is new, beautiful, and naked.

“I’m no more your mother

Than the cloud that distills a mirror …”

This is another example of a metaphor. Here, the speaker compares herself to the cloud. A cloud is a distant thing. This comparison implies that the speaker (mother) is feeling detached and distant from her baby.

 “Your handful of notes;”

“I’m no more your mother

Than the cloud that distills a mirror …”

Personification

A personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities to non-human things.

Example: “The window square / Whitens and swallows its dull stars.”

Here, the window is given human ability. The poet treats the window as if it can swallow the stars. The poet actually means that the stars are no longer visible in the daylight.

“The window square

Whitens and swallows its dull stars.”

Assonance

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Example: “Your mouth opens clean as a cat’s.”

Here, the long “a” sound in “as” and “cat’s” and the long “o” sound in “mouth” and “opens” create a musical flow.

Imagery

Imagery means descriptive language that creates pictures/images in the reader’s mind. Readers can feel the images with their senses, like touch, taste, smell, hear, or see.

Example:

The speaker compares her new baby to various objects, such as a “fat gold watch” in the first line and a “New statue” in line 4. These images suggest the speaker’s 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.

There are also many auditory images, like the baby’s cry, echo, and “handful of notes.” The baby’s breath is like the sound of “a far sea” in her ear. It means the baby’s breath feels calm and continuous, like the sound of a far sea.