Carissa Avalos, period 5

Clever as a Fox; Animal imagery
If someone were to describe Sylvia Plath’s last compilation of poetry as “clever as a fox” the overall message of this description could be easily interpreted and understood. The message being: Plath’s last poems were cunning and will forever uphold its’ legacy. Although her poems could be considered depressing and feministic by some, she is still seen as one of the most influential American poets. In “Morning Song” and “Tulips”, Plath uses animal imagery to give a commonly relatable illusion to a specific thought, ultimately developing a unanimous consensus to the tone of each poem.
In order for the public to be able to accept Plath’s works, they must first be able to understand it. By using common animals for her images, Plath allows the general audience to perceive her underlying messages. In “Morning Song” Plath writes, “Your mouth opens clean as a cat’s” (line 15). Once this line is read, the image of a gentle domestic cat opening its mouth to yawn is envisioned in most reader’s heads. “Morning Song” was written about Sylvia Plath’s recollections of the birth of her new child, so the connection between a sweet, gentle cat and a new born baby is easily made. The reason this connection was so easily made was because she used the tool of a common illusion, or an illusion most readers can relate to. Another use of a relatable illusion is seen in the poem “Tulips” on line 13 which reads, “They are opening like the mouth of some great African cat.” Although not everyone may know exactly what an “African cat” is, the description of this animal generally leads readers to believe it is a royal lion, or a strong superior feline. This use of imagery is slightly more ambiguous, but equally relatable for the independent perspective of each reader. But much like in “Morning Song”, this animal imagery is given a heightened perspective when read in context of the poem, which has a great effect on its overall tone.
The animal references used in “Morning Song” and “Tulips” provide the reader with an immediate sense of the tone that Plath was trying to portray in each poem. In “Morning Song”, the image of a gentle domestic cat provides the reader with a positive representation of the new born baby described in the poem. The overall tone of “Morning Song” is nervous but excited, and the comparison of a yawning cat and a waking baby reflect these joyous feelings. In this example, the illusion of a cat gives a positive connotation to the poem, but the exact opposite is found in “Tulips”. “Tulips” was written after Plath had a miscarriage and was severely depressed. The tone of the poem displays this suicidal feeling and the “great African cat” used in the poem aggrandizes this. When read in context, the cat is portrayed as a beastly predator, waiting to feast on Sylvia. The blood red tulips described throughout the poem are so harming they are compared to this dangerous “African cat”. The tulips are representation of the interruption of her suicidal attempts, which makes the “cat” a representation of those aggressively trying to pursue her death. This animal imagery contributes to the negative undertone of the poem and the negativity is felt immediately after being read. Although the animal references used in each poem present the reader with a different perspective of the poems, the animals used were essentially the same.
In both “Morning Song” and Tulips”, a cat is the animal of which Plath uses to depict her overall message of each poem. But how is it that the same animal can have such a great alternating effect on the different poems? The gentle house cat described in “Morning Song” is nothing like the ferocious feral cat seen in “Tulips”. This shows Plath’s ingenious ability to alter typical ideas used in society to reflect her own life. This skill may have also been a way for Plath to feel a sense of power. Controlling the effect that the imagery had on her poems was a way for her to have the control of some aspect of her life and those around her. At this time in Plath’s life she felt very powerless over everything but her poems, and this is seen in the examples I have given. The animal imagery used in Plath’s poems gives the reader a strong understanding of her message and give Plath a chance to caper with distortion.