Comparing Two Poems

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Imogen Withers YA7 Compare how the speakers’ attitudes towards motherhood are presented in ‘You’re’ and ‘Morning Song’ by Silvia Plath The two poems ‘You’re’ and ‘Morning Song’, demonstrate the differing attitudes towards motherhood. The tone of ‘You’re’ is that of positivity and nervousness as the mother comes to terms with the enormity of the fact that she has a growing life inside her. On the other hand, in ‘Morning Song’ the mother appears to dissociate herself with the child creating an atmosphere of hopelessness. In the poems we observe the reasons for this by firstly looking at the language used. In ‘You’re’, the fact that the foetus is described as ‘clownlike’ reminds us of how it has not yet developed its features and therefore may look odd. However, the word clownlike also lends itself to childishness and playfulness which relates to the innocence of the child. In ‘Morning Song’, it could be suggested that the opening line does not possess the same connotations as in ‘You’re’. For example, the baby is compared to ‘a fat gold watch’ which is an unusual comparison. Unlike the word clown which is a soft word, ‘fat’ is sharp. The bluntness of it could demonstrate the poet’s minimal affection towards the infant and the ‘gold watch’ may also illustrate how the poet views the foetus as something cold or simply as an inanimate object. On the other hand, the gold watch could be referring to something precious or priceless; however, in the context of the surrounding language used this is unlikely. In ‘You’re’, there are other examples of pleasant phrases and ways to describe the baby in the poem. The quotes, ‘snug as a bud’ and ‘at home’ sound like a warm and loving comparison to make and the fact that it is compared to a flower, something beautiful in itself and a representation of new life, may highlight her attitude towards the pregnancy.
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