Stillborn - A poem by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath - Stillborn

These poems do not live: it's a sad diagnosis.
They grew their toes and fingers well enough,
Their little foreheads bulged with concentration.
If they missed out on walking about like people
It wasn't for any lack of mother-love.

O I cannot explain what happened to them!
They are proper in shape and number and every part.
They sit so nicely in the pickling fluid!
They smile and smile and smile at me.
And still the lungs won't fill and the heart won't start.

They are not pigs, they are not even fish,
Though they have a piggy and a fishy air --
It would be better if they were alive, and that's what they were.
But they are dead, and their mother near dead with distraction,
And they stupidly stare and do not speak of her.

Added: on June 14th, 2007 at 12:13 AM | Viewed: 16976 times | Comments and analysis of Stillborn by Sylvia Plath Comments (14)

Stillborn - Comments and Information
Poet: Sylvia Plath (Sylvia Plath Art) Poem: Stillborn Volume: The Collected Poems Year: Published/Written in 1960 Comment 14 of 14, added on April 17th, 2009 at 3:42 PM. until your wives give birth to a stillborn, then you can appreciate how disgusting visitors are to a mother who just gave birth to a stillborn child. they just cant say "i grieve with you" and just shut up. father of yssay from Spain Comment 13 of 14, added on January 19th, 2008 at 3:34 AM. it is easy to perceive the poem to be about a stillborn child, however plath uses the metaphor of a stillborn child to portray her distress over her, apparently, lifeless poetry. the extended metaphor is introduced in beginning of the first stanza "these poems do not live: it's a sad diagnosis." plath then continues to describe the intricacies of the poems, and how, technicaly, they were flawless. "they grew their toes and fingers well enough... and still the lungs won't fill and the heart won't start" upon reading the poem, the viewer is somewhat taken aback by the truculence and rawness of the language However upon another reading, it is the ambiguity and repugnance that help us to fully comprehend the emotional distress these defective poems were causing plath. "they are not pigs, they are not even fish Though they have a piggy and a fishy air." the change in persona also shows plaths' changing views on her poetry. the poem commences in the first person " O I cannot understand what happened to them!" in the third stanza, however, there is a shift to the third person. "but they are dead, and their mother near dead with distraction." this shows her extrication from her poetry. I hope that was helpful in interpreting the poem. peace&love nicolaaaa :) from Australia Comment 12 of 14, added on June 14th, 2007 at 12:13 AM. this poem is just amazing.. the way sylvia works with her language.. and the dead poems and grotesque imagery such as the pickling fluid or the piggy and fishy air... the title stillborn could be for the stillborn children of any woman or sylvias poem which is dead from the beginning, because such a horrible experience, giving birth to a dead child, cannot be explained with words. Mell from Germany More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Stillborn, has received 14 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Sylvia Plath with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Sylvia Plath Poem: Stillborn Volume: The Collected Poems Year: Published/Written in 1960 Last read: Dec 9 2009, 5:50PM Viewed 16976 times. Added on June 14th, 2007 at 12:13 AM.

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