Eugene Lurie

Birth and Death; Life Is Like A Rose
Every poet has a deeper meaning for common images. One such poet is Sylvia Plath. Plath was a poet in a time where few women were doing so. She had children and ultimately committed suicide in the end. Since these events and topics occurred in her life it is not surprising that they were reflected in her poetry. Imagery is one technique Plath used to convey in her poetry. Flowers were on of her main images used in poems. They were used on different poems and each had a significant meaning. In “Morning Song” images of flowers are used to convey the experience of birth, whereas in “Edge” the image is used to show death and therefore together making a circle of life as symbolized by the two poems.
Flowers are used at different times and themes. “Morning Song” is a poem with the theme of birth in the first three stanzas and motherhood in the final three. Images of flowers are used to support these themes. In “Morning Song” on line thirteen we see Plath writes, “cow-heavy and floral”. Here she is using the images of flowers to help explain the appearance of motherhood. A contrast to this is seen in the poem “Edge”. In this poem the theme is no longer birth or motherhood, but that of death. Images of flowers are used to convey death. On line sixteen, in “Edge”, Plath states, “ From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower”. At this point she is talking about a theme of death and flowers are associated with death as flowers are used in funerals and can have a negative, as well as a positive, purpose. In “Morning Song” we see flowers presented at a time of beginning and in “Edge” at a time of end. Both poems have flowers, yet for different purposes and themes. Also they are used to convey different meanings and experiences.
Not only does the imagery of flowers support the themes, but also together the images create a progression, or circle, of life. We see a time of birth in “Morning Song” and this is the start of life. Then the progression of the flowers is seen in “Edge” where life has come to its final stage, death. Interestingly enough the image of roses is contained in both of these poems to signify start and end point. Roses in “Morning Song” are used on line eleven when the poem states, “Flicker among flat pink roses”. The theme of this poem is birth and motherhood and here the roses are used to explain the baby’s state and a baby signifies start of life. Same image of roses is used in “Edge” on line fourteen, “Of a rose close when the garden”. From these two poems the symbol of the circle of life is seen. She wrote “Morning Song” first and then “Edge”, the progression of life to death. Each poem separately has its own use for flowers, but when put together they show progression.
Plath went through these stages of life as she attempted suicide (deals with death) and gave birth to two children. Flowers were contained in these themes to help push across the different experiences of birth, motherhood, and death. She used these times and themes symbolically with flowers to show a time at the start of life and at the end, to compare them and show a change as progression. It seems as no mistake that both poems use the image of a rose, which is given at birth to mothers as a sign of accomplishment or death as sign of end and grief as seen in funerals. By this use of flowers it is apparent that their use is flexible and is not limited to just one emotion or time period. How ironic that Plath used something with a life cycle of its own to show ours.