Silvia Plath's Effective Use of Imagery
Silvia Plath effectively uses imagery in ‘The baby gives out a bald cry.'(Plath, S. 1966). The cry, as the poet states, ‘takes its place among the elements.' The predictability of the cry is seen to be cold and non-living. It is a cold cry that cannot fit among the human beings. It is strange with no life in it- ‘the bald cry.' ‘The fat gold watch' is a form of imagery. The watch symbolizes time. The mother has patiently waited for the child's birth. The time and energy the child is given is immense, hence can only be compared to the concrete image of ‘a fat gold watch.'(Plath, S. 1966)
Silvia Plath's Use of Figurative Language
Silvia further uses figurative language in the second stanza ‘Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival' so as to show exaggeration and intensity. During the child's birth, there are ululations that are compared to echoes. Echoes start from a source to a far off place and then bounce back. This shows that the child's birth was heard and celebrated from far and wide.
Personification and Symbolism in "The baby gives out a bald cry."
Additionally, the poet employs personification when the child is compared to ‘a new statue in a drafty museum.' This is also symbolic because when a mother gives birth to a child, the child becomes a new member of the family and the society at large. This comparison of the child to ‘a new statue in a museum' indicates that the child is important, the environment in which it has been born in is well-guarded and its life is frail, therefore the child is handled with utmost care. Even those surrounding the baby are monitored. Silvia Plath uses phrases in her poem to push the theme forward. This is evident where the poet says that ‘the child's nakedness shadows their safety'. (Plath, S. 1966). This indicates that the party present during the child's birth is frightened because they are not safe anymore. Their fright leaves them stranded and is figuratively likened to ‘the museum walls'. Walls are usually quiet, museum walls must be unusually quiet as they candidly stand strong to safeguard the statues. The current safety is doubtable because the people are frightened.
The Dominant Themes of "The baby gives out a bald cry."
The dominant themes are motherhood and neglect. The usual motherly affection to her child ceases to exist. It is so ironical that there is no joy during this childbirth. The mother denies being the mother of the new-born baby. This is illustrated when she flatly says she is ‘no more the child's mother.' The mother to child bond seems to have been cut short. The mother had side-lined her child as an inanimate being- gold. It is true in stanza three when she denies being the child's mother. This echoes the first stanza where she had called her child ‘a fat gold watch.'
The Incomparable Comparison between Material Appreciation and Human Love
Material appreciation and human love are incomparable. The mother initially compares her child symbolically to gold. In stanza two, she calls her child ‘a new statue' while in the third stanza she denies of being the child's mother. There is little or no inter-personal relationship between the child and its mother. The mother's attachment to her child is like a mere appreciation of a statue in a museum. The mother sees herself in the child just like a reflection. This is imagery. The image in the mother's child is pale just ‘like clouds at the wind's hand.'(Plath, S. 1966). This shows that the connection she has towards her child is shallow and faint.
The Growing Bond between Mother and Child
In the fourth stanza, personification is used when the persona compares her child's breath to that of a moth. Her child's moth-breath flows over pink roses. ‘Pink roses' symbolize love. The initial dullness she had towards her child begins to fade. The roses she talks about are ‘flat pink.' She is gradually developing emotions towards her child. She even ‘wakes up to listen' for her child's ‘moth-breath.'(Plath, S. 1966). She is concerned with her child's well-being. This is an indication that she is developing a bond with her child. ‘She hears a far sea move in her ears.' Her child's moth-breath sound like a moving sea. ‘A far sea' sounds calm, she is getting relaxed and attached to the child even though her connection with her is still distant.
The Shift from Sadness to Hope
In addition to waking up, figurative language is evident when her child gives out ‘one cry,' she ‘stumbles from bed' while dressed in a ‘floral nightgown.' It seems she has developed a strong bond with her child because only one cry makes her get out of bed to tend to her crying baby. The heavy floral nightgown indicates her appreciation for happiness. Her spirit is lively as she prepares to care for her child. As she tends to her child, she notices that her child's ‘open mouth is as clean as that of a cat' (Plath, S. 1966). Earlier on she had seen her child as a ‘statue' with ‘moth-breath.' This is a great leap because she has compared her child to a living thing that lives with human beings. Her love and appreciation for her child are developing.
Rising Hope and Happiness
In the last stanza, the whitening of the window square and disappearance of dull stars symbolize her rising hope. The tone shifts from that of sadness to that of hope. The mother's emotions are elevated. Her child's cry sounds like ‘clear vowels' rising smoothly in the air ‘like balloons.' Consequently, her child's cry is likened to ‘vowels.' Vowels are spoken by human beings. Her maternal instincts are evident, she develops emotions for her child and cares for her.
The Journey of Emotional Changes
The poet takes us through all the emotional changes, from a tone of sadness to that of hope and happiness. The initially emotionless mother finally appreciates, loves, and cares for her child. This is just like the morning song that her child shall be singing merrily as she wakes up to find her mother by its side.
Work Cited
Plath, S. Morning Song academy of American Poets. Harper " Row. 1966. Retrieved from; https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/morning-song
