In Plath's poem 'Cut', the ordinary experience of so commonplace an incident as a cut is used to communicate the much deeper and more obscure inner psyche of the speaker. The experience of a cut, that which is familiar to practically every person, gives rise to an array of convoluted and strange thoughts in the speaker. These thoughts, while appearing on the superficial level to describe the physical experience of being cut, carry in them, however, strong metaphors that shed light on the speaker's complex feelings and emotions. This essay, in seeking to explore the way in which Plath effectively communicates to her readers the unfamiliar by use of the familiar, will posit that it is through the use evocative metaphors and imagery anchored on one basic and familiar incident that the final emotional experience of the speaker in 'Cut' is pieced together.
             Rather than delve directly into the speaker's complex web of emotions that is very likely to be inaccessible to the reader, Plath chose to evoke in readers this understanding by embedding within the poem excellent metaphors that portray meanings richer and deeper than that of the physical experience of the cut. The title "cut", which denotes dismemberment, in itself hints at the sense of displacement and alienation that the speaker seems to be caught in. It is evident how throughout the poem, this pattern of using an object of familiarity to represent the speaker's alien sentiments is present.
             The appearance of the sliced thumb is expressed in the form of varied metaphors. One gets the sense that the speaker is no doubt over dramatizing the slight event of an accidental cut. The thumb of the skin becomes a "hinge", a "flap like a hat", and even a "wattle", an ugly, wrinkled and incongruous-looking thing. These metaphors while conjuring up in the reader's mind
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