The American poet Sylvia Plath first published "Morning Song" in 1961, shortly after the birth
of her first child. The poem paints a surreal, intimate, and tender portrait of a woman
navigating motherhood for the first time. The speaker struggles to see her infant—who was
so recently a part of her own body but who is now separate—as her own. At the same time,
she feels a deep sense of devotion and responsibility to this utterly vulnerable being. The
poem suggests that becoming a mother can be both deeply disorienting and sublime
Morning Song Summary & Analysis
Download this LitChart! (PDF)
Everything you need for every book you read.
The American poet Sylvia Plath first published "Morning Song" in 1961, shortly after the birth
of her first child. The poem paints a surreal, intimate, and tender portrait of a woman
navigating motherhood for the first time. The speaker struggles to see her infant—who was
so recently a part of her own body but who is now separate—as her own. At the same time,
she feels a deep sense of devotion and responsibility to this utterly vulnerable being. The
poem suggests that becoming a mother can be both deeply disorienting and sublime.
Read the full text of “Morning Song”
“Morning Song” Summary
The speaker addresses her new baby, saying that love set the child's life in motion, making it
tick like a big rich watch. She remembers how the midwife smacked the bottoms of the
baby's feet, and how she heard the baby's unrestrained cry becoming one of the essential
parts of the universe.
Now, the baby's family celebrates and wonders over the baby's arrival. The baby is like a
new sculpture standing in an old museum. Its vulnerable nakedness casts a shadow over its
parents' security. The family stands around stunned.
The speaker says that she can hardly believe she's the baby's mother now: she feels about
as much like a mother as a dissolving cloud feels like the mother of a mirror that reflects it.
All night, the baby's moth-like breathing flutters around the roses in the wallpaper. The
speaker wakes up to listen for the baby's breath; it sounds like a distant ocean.
The instant the baby cries, the speaker hurries out of bed, feeling heavy as a cow in her
old-fashioned nightgown. The baby's mouth opens up as naturally and cleanly as a cat's
mouth. Meanwhile, the window gets brighter as the dawn comes. The baby makes a few
little practice sounds, vowels that float up into the air like balloons.
“Morning Song” Themes
Theme Maternal Awe and Ambivalence
Maternal Awe and Ambivalence
“Morning Song” depicts a new mother’s conflicting, ambivalent emotions about motherhood.
On the one hand, the speaker clearly feels some degree of shock at her new role and
disconnection from her baby. On the other hand, she also shows signs of a burgeoning
maternal instinct and desire to nurture her child. Motherhood, for this speaker, is a tender but
, surreal experience—something that opens up a new world of intimacy, yet is also intensely
disorienting.
It’s clear that the speaker is having some trouble adjusting to motherhood, and that she
doesn’t quite feel the instantaneous bond new moms stereotypically share with their infants.
Though she attributes the baby’s existence to “Love,” there's something cold, distant, and
mechanical about how she describes her new child. She compares the baby to a “fat gold
watch” and a “statue,” for example, as if the baby were a lifeless object rather than a person.
These comparisons also imply that the speaker is an artist or a watchmaker (note that this
latter occupation, in particular, is a common metaphor for God). In both cases, these
creators exist independently of their creations. These metaphors thus suggest that even as
the speaker finds her baby precious—a golden work of art—she feels essentially separate
from the child.
In fact, the speaker seems to feel disbelief at being a mother at all. She goes so far as to say
that she’s not really the baby’s mother any more than a “cloud” is—a metaphor that evokes
how surreal it feels for her to take on her new identity of “mother.” Adding to this sense of
disorientation and disconnect, the adults "stand round blankly as walls,” as though looking at
a museum exhibit. They are awe-struck and shell-shocked at this new life so quickly taking
“its place among the elements.” The speaker again emphasizes the tension between the
baby’s independence from and total dependence on her—the way the child so seamlessly
establishes a presence in the speaker’s world, yet also seems delicate and fragile, like a
museum piece.
Yet despite the speaker’s apparent difficulty in adjusting to motherhood, she is also clearly
devoted to her child. She describes listening all night to her child’s breathing, which she
compares to that of a moth. She recognizes her baby’s vulnerability and responds the
second she hears the child “cry,” jumping out of bed “cow-heavy” (i.e., swollen with milk).
The baby’s “mouth opens,” ready for nourishment; despite the disconnect the speaker earlier
describes, it’s clear that the speaker and the baby are literally, physically in sync.
The speaker goes on to describe sitting with the baby until morning. As the stars fade, the
baby makes incoherent sounds, which the speaker likens to balloons rising: a hopeful image
that suggests the speaker’s growing tenderness toward her child. Though they're no more
than babbled "vowels," the baby’s attempts to communicate are “clear” to the
speaker—suggesting that mother and child are learning to speak a shared new language.
Overall, then, the poem portrays an experience of new motherhood that is disorienting,
awe-inspiring, and powerfully intimate all at once.
The poem is filled with clear, vivid imagery. Much of this imagery is visual: the speaker
compares her new baby to various inanimate objects, such as a "fat gold watch" in the first
line, a "New statue" in line 4, and a "mirror" in line 8. These images suggest the speaker's
sense of detachment from the baby: she sees the baby as her beautiful creation, but not yet
as a real person she can connect with emotionally.
She also describes herself in ways that highlight her sense of shock and uncertainty. In line
6, for example, she says that the adults in her hospital room "stand round blankly as walls."
of her first child. The poem paints a surreal, intimate, and tender portrait of a woman
navigating motherhood for the first time. The speaker struggles to see her infant—who was
so recently a part of her own body but who is now separate—as her own. At the same time,
she feels a deep sense of devotion and responsibility to this utterly vulnerable being. The
poem suggests that becoming a mother can be both deeply disorienting and sublime
Morning Song Summary & Analysis
Download this LitChart! (PDF)
Everything you need for every book you read.
The American poet Sylvia Plath first published "Morning Song" in 1961, shortly after the birth
of her first child. The poem paints a surreal, intimate, and tender portrait of a woman
navigating motherhood for the first time. The speaker struggles to see her infant—who was
so recently a part of her own body but who is now separate—as her own. At the same time,
she feels a deep sense of devotion and responsibility to this utterly vulnerable being. The
poem suggests that becoming a mother can be both deeply disorienting and sublime.
Read the full text of “Morning Song”
“Morning Song” Summary
The speaker addresses her new baby, saying that love set the child's life in motion, making it
tick like a big rich watch. She remembers how the midwife smacked the bottoms of the
baby's feet, and how she heard the baby's unrestrained cry becoming one of the essential
parts of the universe.
Now, the baby's family celebrates and wonders over the baby's arrival. The baby is like a
new sculpture standing in an old museum. Its vulnerable nakedness casts a shadow over its
parents' security. The family stands around stunned.
The speaker says that she can hardly believe she's the baby's mother now: she feels about
as much like a mother as a dissolving cloud feels like the mother of a mirror that reflects it.
All night, the baby's moth-like breathing flutters around the roses in the wallpaper. The
speaker wakes up to listen for the baby's breath; it sounds like a distant ocean.
The instant the baby cries, the speaker hurries out of bed, feeling heavy as a cow in her
old-fashioned nightgown. The baby's mouth opens up as naturally and cleanly as a cat's
mouth. Meanwhile, the window gets brighter as the dawn comes. The baby makes a few
little practice sounds, vowels that float up into the air like balloons.
“Morning Song” Themes
Theme Maternal Awe and Ambivalence
Maternal Awe and Ambivalence
“Morning Song” depicts a new mother’s conflicting, ambivalent emotions about motherhood.
On the one hand, the speaker clearly feels some degree of shock at her new role and
disconnection from her baby. On the other hand, she also shows signs of a burgeoning
maternal instinct and desire to nurture her child. Motherhood, for this speaker, is a tender but
, surreal experience—something that opens up a new world of intimacy, yet is also intensely
disorienting.
It’s clear that the speaker is having some trouble adjusting to motherhood, and that she
doesn’t quite feel the instantaneous bond new moms stereotypically share with their infants.
Though she attributes the baby’s existence to “Love,” there's something cold, distant, and
mechanical about how she describes her new child. She compares the baby to a “fat gold
watch” and a “statue,” for example, as if the baby were a lifeless object rather than a person.
These comparisons also imply that the speaker is an artist or a watchmaker (note that this
latter occupation, in particular, is a common metaphor for God). In both cases, these
creators exist independently of their creations. These metaphors thus suggest that even as
the speaker finds her baby precious—a golden work of art—she feels essentially separate
from the child.
In fact, the speaker seems to feel disbelief at being a mother at all. She goes so far as to say
that she’s not really the baby’s mother any more than a “cloud” is—a metaphor that evokes
how surreal it feels for her to take on her new identity of “mother.” Adding to this sense of
disorientation and disconnect, the adults "stand round blankly as walls,” as though looking at
a museum exhibit. They are awe-struck and shell-shocked at this new life so quickly taking
“its place among the elements.” The speaker again emphasizes the tension between the
baby’s independence from and total dependence on her—the way the child so seamlessly
establishes a presence in the speaker’s world, yet also seems delicate and fragile, like a
museum piece.
Yet despite the speaker’s apparent difficulty in adjusting to motherhood, she is also clearly
devoted to her child. She describes listening all night to her child’s breathing, which she
compares to that of a moth. She recognizes her baby’s vulnerability and responds the
second she hears the child “cry,” jumping out of bed “cow-heavy” (i.e., swollen with milk).
The baby’s “mouth opens,” ready for nourishment; despite the disconnect the speaker earlier
describes, it’s clear that the speaker and the baby are literally, physically in sync.
The speaker goes on to describe sitting with the baby until morning. As the stars fade, the
baby makes incoherent sounds, which the speaker likens to balloons rising: a hopeful image
that suggests the speaker’s growing tenderness toward her child. Though they're no more
than babbled "vowels," the baby’s attempts to communicate are “clear” to the
speaker—suggesting that mother and child are learning to speak a shared new language.
Overall, then, the poem portrays an experience of new motherhood that is disorienting,
awe-inspiring, and powerfully intimate all at once.
The poem is filled with clear, vivid imagery. Much of this imagery is visual: the speaker
compares her new baby to various inanimate objects, such as a "fat gold watch" in the first
line, a "New statue" in line 4, and a "mirror" in line 8. These images suggest the speaker's
sense of detachment from the baby: she sees the baby as her beautiful creation, but not yet
as a real person she can connect with emotionally.
She also describes herself in ways that highlight her sense of shock and uncertainty. In line
6, for example, she says that the adults in her hospital room "stand round blankly as walls."
