Meaning is a concept we come up with ourselves. There are no rules, and as readers we have to form our own deciphering from the text.  Figurative language allows for us to get a deeper meaning and connect with the text. Sylvia Plath cries for help with her nine- month struggle in a number of ways in her poem "Metaphors". She embeds imagery, metaphors, and tone in the structure to form this allegory of her not so beautiful pregnancy, begging the reader for help. 

This poem is written from a mother's point of view. Most mothers talk about pregnancy as a beautiful thing that only a woman can experience. Plath takes the opposite road with her cry for help. She shows the pain she goes through each and every day. This poem is personal and, with literary language, allows for the reader to truly get involved. Decoding the poem is Plath's way of showing the reader how hard she has been trying to keep her emotions within herself. She is a puzzle that is very hard to solve, and by taking a normal glance at her, the average person would not realize she is in pain. In "Metaphors" Sylvia has a mix of words that are out of place, and have to be connected with a close look. Plath's feelings are negative about this struggle. Everything is based about the nine months, and she hides her message the structure. Each line has nine syllables and there are nine lines. The poem itself is an allegory with plenty of metaphors per line. "This loaf's big with its yeasty rising" (Plath 57), refers to the image of an expanding stomach. Without reading closely into it, the reader would not understand this. The nine syllables and nine lines start to help understand the allegory, that refers to the ups and downs a mother has to go through in the process of giving birth.  The message she is quietly screaming becomes more apparent to the reader each time they read this poem. The mixed around words becomes puzzle pieces that have to be put together. The end of her pregnancy is almost there and becomes obvious when Plath quotes, "Boarded the train and there's no getting off" (Plath 57), that she is ready to finish this journey.

Each reader is left to differently interpret this poem. Similar to "Death of the Author" by Roland Barthes, the meaning the author had becomes non-existent when it is interpreted by someone else. These texts go hand-in-hand with their messages of making meaning and not being able to truly understand the author. 

Barthes' and Plath's readings start with the power of the author. When writing, the author has full power over what message they try and display. Once the words hit the paper and it is published, all of the power is gone. The readers now hold full control over interpretation. Barthes explains this in "Death of the Author" with his quote "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author." (Barthes 6). The reader is able to choose how they will interpret what is being said. They have the power to focus on the background of the writing and the authors life, or to focus on one reading itself. The reader is held responsible for choosing a meaning that satisfies themselves. The meaning is influenced by the background of the interpreter. Many authors intentionally write with figurative language to leave the readers confused and thinking.

In "Metaphors," Plath is able to connect to every person on this planet. Whether they are a mother, or not, each person was created by their mother. Men will never have the chance to feel the physical struggle that Sylvia Plath talks about in this poem, but she is asking them for 

sympathy. She also is crying out to the women who may or may not get pregnant, to warn them what her experience was like. Plath gives many clues about how it feels to be pregnant. 

The figurative language most commonly used in this poem is metaphors, as said in the title. Plath starts the poem with a tricky sentence on the second line stating "An elephant, a ponderous house" (Plath 57). She is trying to express how she feels large, and out of place with her pregnant body. She does not feel like herself and is embarrassed. In the next line she mentions "A melon strolling on two tendrils" (Plath 57). The melon signifies her round stomach, and the two tendrils are her two legs that have not expanded much. In the fourth line, Plath becomes more creative and forces the reader to think more. Plath states "O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!" (Plath 57). The meaning behind it can be interpreted as her referring to a fruit of thy womb, which is referring to her carrying a child. 

The beginning of the poem seems more positive, and shows her adjustments of being pregnant when she speaks of growing into an "elephant" and her stomach looking like a "melon". In the seventh line, her emotions start to come pouring out from inside of her. The "cow in calf" (Plath 57) does not give up a positive connotation. The next two lines finish off the poem with her feeling sick, but not being able to turn around. When the

Sylvia Plath discusses her struggles of being a pregnant woman in the late 1950's. She uses figurative language to in an effort to express her nine-month journey.  The reader has to look at the poem multiple times and closely read to decide for themselves the meaning of this poem. They are able to come up with a better understanding of the message displayed by the author.  Plath shows her struggle and experiences with the text and leaves the rest up to the reader to interpret. The reader's job is to feel sympathy for her and look closely into what a woman during this time period was forced to go through when getting ready to deliver a child. Although pregnancy seems timeless, women struggled a great amount in the 1950's because many of their husbands were working very much and couldn't care for them as often. The treatment was different then and delivering the child was much more painful due to less ease from the doctors in the hospital. Women weren't able to get the same medicines and pain killers that they appropriately needed for their own comfort. Pregnancy was an uphill battle during the time period this poem was written, and readers from the present are able to see how the times have changed.

