Source: www.moonchalice.com
"Metaphors"
by Sylvia Plath
A sonnet is one form of poetry. It
is usually considered a “fourteen – line poem in iambic pentameter.” Sonnets
follow a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Sonnets include various
types: English (Shakespearean), Italian (Petrarchan), Occitan, Urdu,
Spenserian, Dante’s Variation, and the Modern Sonnet. Each one adapts its own
specific structure, rhyme scheme, and construction. For example, the most
familiar type, the Shakespearean sonnet is arranged as three quatrains and a
final couplet, and has the rhyme scheme “a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.” Also,
the well known Italian sonnet consists of six or eight – lines, “a-b-b-a,
a-b-b-a, c-d-e, c-d-e,” or “a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d, c-d, c-d” rhyme schemes.
Generally, a sonnet contains much figurative language like metaphors. Metaphors
are the comparison between unlike things without using comparison words such as
“like,” or “as.” The purpose of the device is similar to similes since it compares
two things, but the form is different.
The poem, “Metaphors,” written by
Sylvia Plath contains numerous metaphors like the title suggests. In the poem,
there are 9 metaphors, and each metaphor represents the poet. For example, in
line 5: “This loaf's big with its yeasty rising,” the items being compared are
the loaf and the poet. The loaf keeps expanding as time passes because of the
yeast. This image is similar to the author’s belly which keeps increasing in
size due to the growth of the baby. This expression directly compares her body
with the loaf without using “as” or “like.” Hence, this is a metaphor.
However, despite the abundant
amounts of metaphoric expressions and the deep meaning of each sentence, the
poem “Metaphors” is not a sonnet. As mentioned above, sonnets require a strict
format: specific structure, rhyme scheme, and construction, but this poem
doesn’t contain the vital rules for sonnets. It doesn’t have specific rhyme
scheme or follow constructions like the arrangement of quatrains. Furthermore,
the most significant factor for sonnets is the number of lines and meter. The
poem consists of nine lines which is not regarded in any type of sonnet, and has
different meters from typical sonnet. Therefore, “Metaphors” is not a sonnet.
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