Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphors" is a very visual poem that expresses the speakers struggle with her inner self as she is seen as a very relatable poet. As a post  World War II American Confessional poet who spoke of her personal problems, her poems were often accepted and read by many people (56). The significance of the title "Metaphors" has a great correlation to the poem itself as metaphor in Greek, "metapherein," means to "transfer, carry over; change, alter " (Harper). In this poem the speaker is viewed by others as a counselor who is continually influencing others by giving advice on relatable topics. As one will soon discover, the speaker has many internal problems that she does not know how to deal with herself.  This is very ironic, but unfortunately this is a constant situation that many individuals deal with. The speaker clearly sees herself as a counselor to others through her writing. A major theme of this poem is the conflict between perfection verses reality, as she is viewed as someone who is perfect from the outside, but in reality she has many internal issues that she needs to conquer.  

In the first line of the poem the speaker states "I'm a riddle in nine lines" (Line 1). The speaker describes herself as a riddle, as she comes off indirect but very confident in what she is saying.  The word "lines" stands out with such great meaning. "Lines" in Old English means to advise, or counsel (Harper), this gives the reader a reason to believe that Plath views herself as a counselor.  The speaker goes on to describe herself by using many different metaphors that have no relation to each other at all. The disjuncture between these unrelated metaphors the speaker views herself as someone who is unsure of herself and is actually confused.  In the second line of the poem she describes herself as "An elephant, a ponderous house" (Line 2). As she describes herself she secretly creates a connection to support the claim that she is a counselor. Elephants are perceived to have great memory, in comparison counselors have good memory as they take all aspects into account when counseling others. She describes herself as a ponderous house, as she views herself as a place of refuge, as others come to confide in her with their problems.

In the third line of the poem she describes herself as a melon walking with small legs. Through imagery one can physically envision, an overweight person slowly walking around. However, psychologically, one can picture someone who is struggling to support themselves as an individual who is going through a lot. In Greek "a melon was used in a generic way for all foreign fruits" (Harper). This correlates to a counselor as they are somewhat classified as the main model for anyone who gives guidance. Although the speaker is a bit insecure she does praise some aspects of herself "O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers" (Line 4).  In some ways she does feel that she is desirable and one of a kind as ivory and fine timbers aren't easy to come by. The line that follows "This loaf's big with its yeast rising," (Line 5) shows that she deals with others' ongoing problems. "This" in Old English is a "demonstrative pronoun an adjective," (Harper) as the author is no longer talking about herself but, about other's problems. She describes the ongoing problem as yeast rising, but one knows that if yeast continues to rise it will eventually pop. The physical process yeast goes through as it rise is known as a metabolic process.  Fermentation which also means ferment figuratively means "anger and passion" (Harper). Thus the speaker sees herself as a part of a process, helping people with their anger and ongoing problems as a counselor.

Near the middle of the poem the speaker speaks of how money's proper placement is in a purse, and it is interpreted that if money is not used to be put in a purse then a purse is useless. In relation advice is given by a counselor, therefore it is interpreted that if a counselor did not give advice they would not be needed. This supports the fact that she is a necessity to others lives, a she is very much needed as a counselor. The speaker continues to speak of how important she is to others and about how her part as a counselor is a necessary part of other success.  "I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf" (Line 7). When she thinks of herself as being a means she is actually explaining how she is a vessel that is used to help others with their problems. She describes herself as necessity, as a play is not performed without a stage, and a calf is not birthed without its mother. She sees herself as being a counselor who is a component of others fate. Although personally she does not see herself as a completely perfect person internally, externally individuals see her as perfect or as a figurehead as she continues to help them with their problems.

Eventually, the speaker speaks of guilt as she says "I've eaten a bag of green apples," (Line 8) she remembers the past as she did not have the best experiences. She explains it as eating a bag of green apples as guilt because green apples are often sour. This represents that she has carried a lot of unseen baggage that she is not proud of however she continues to hide her problems. As she says that she has "eaten" the green apples, she uses past tense to show that it is in the past, and that she can not change the situation, as it has already happened. In the final line of the poem the speaker says that she has "boarded the train there's no getting off" (Line 9). One can determine that the speaker is already stuck in her ways and that she does not want to fix the fact that she is a mess internally although physically she appears fine. In a way one can interpret that the speaker is scared of changing, as she does not even consider getting off of the train, as she does not know where it is taking her. This is very ironic because she is there to lead and counsel people in making changes in their life, but is complacent of where she is with her personal problems.

"Metaphors" is a very interesting poem that is structured due to the fact that the title has nine letters, and that there are nine lines in the poem, and within each line there are nine syllabus. The speaker does this purposely as a counselor is envisioned as someone who is very structured and organized in what they do. "Metaphors" shows the many situations the working class go through, as it was written for a wide range of people. Often time individuals experience problems within their careers which may cause problems internally. However, physically they are able to put on a disguise as leaders in their field to help others, even if they are not able help themselves. Plath's poem is a great example of this complex problem within our society perfection verses reality. People often seem perfect in their field of work but in reality there are many problems internally. The speaker shows how she struggles to support herself but still puts up a disguise to counsel others.

