Essay #1: "Metaphors" by Sylvia Plath
             In Sylvia Plath's poem, "Metaphors," the speaker describes a negative event in which she is experiencing pregnancy. Her choice of words and phrases express her feelings about the pregnancy as well as the structure of the poem.
             In her poem, Plath chooses many metaphors to describe her pregnancy. I felt that these metaphors were describing something that she was not enjoying or looking forward to. The objects she chose to use to express her feelings gave me an uncomfortable feeling of the pregnancy. The line in which she refers to a "ponderous house" brings me to a vision of shelter. I feel that she is sheltering something, but has to think deeply about sheltering this object. The speaker doesn't sound sure of what she is sheltering, and feels confused. It almost seems like a feeling of regret. The line, "Boarded the train there's no getting off," supports her feelings of regret. She sounds as if she has no other choice or option other than to be or remain pregnant. The line almost hints that she is stuck, so she has to continue with the decision.
             These feelings of regret seem to be alongside her mixed feelings. The line in which she refers to eating "a bag of green apples" gives me the impression that she feels sick. The color green, to me, represents sickness or ill feelings. Green apples also could refer to their ripeness. The unripe "green apples" could be describing her feelings of not being ready for the pregnancy. Her metaphor of " a cow in a calf" could mean two things. The speaker is having her first child and doesn't feel sure of this decision, or that she, herself, is a child trying to bring another child into this world. They both convey her feelings of not being ready to handle the situation. One line that supports her not experiencing pregnancy is where she writes, " Money'...