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Metaphors Sylvia Plath Analysis

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Metonymy, A Word I Had to Look Up You have heard of short-hand, when you write something in a shorter way or use a word like it to mean the same thing, well metonymy is the type of language used in poetry. Metonymy: a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “elephant” for “house” (Merriam-Webster) . Learning the definition of this word makes it easier to decode Sylvia Plath’s poem “Metaphors” a true trickery of words. The poem consists of nine lines each containing nine syllables and, as it turns out, is more a riddle than a poem. Through visualization and metaphors, Plath introduces her state of being for what it is, pregnancy. The poem’s expressive yet simple title, “Metaphors,” is naturally fitting, being that is exactly what each line is a metaphor (in this case for a pregnancy). From the beginning, Plath makes it known that this is a riddle a revelation that is put out there from the beginning. Clues begin to form what the riddle is about within the second line as Plath defines herself with visual metaphors. “Elephants” and “ponderous houses” both invoke images large and bulky things, as a pregnancy will do to a person’s body (2). She is starting to believe that being pregnant is making her look awkward, gigantic and ridiculous and that does not sound so good anymore. It is simple to visualize a pregnant woman’s

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