Guidelines

• Your essay should present a clear, defensible thesis that makes a specific claim about how Plath's poetic techniques convey her central meaning.
• Draw on at least three specific moments in the poem (e.g., the simile of the "gold watch," the imagery of "cloud" and "wind," and the dawn imagery in the final stanza) as textual evidence.
• Consider how the speaker's relationship with the infant evolves throughout the poem and what this evolution reveals about selfhood, love, and identity.
• Avoid summarizing the plot; focus on analyzing language and its effects.

Suggested Thesis Scaffold (optional)

> In "Morning Song," Plath employs ________, ________, and ________ to argue that maternal love is not instinctive or pure, but rather ________.

Guidelines

• Your essay should feature a clear, arguable thesis statement that articulates Plath's main assertion about motherhood and the specific literary techniques she employs to express it.
• Reference at least three specific moments in the poem (for example, the simile of the "gold watch," the metaphor of the "statue," and the concluding image of the child's cry likened to a "handful of notes") to support your argument.
• Examine how the tone develops throughout the poem's three stanzas and what this evolution reveals about the speaker's emotional journey.
• Avoid summarizing the plot; concentrate on analyzing language and meaning.