Point of View

This poem is told from the perspective of a first-person speaker; however, the majority of the poem imitates the second-person point of view using the pronoun “you.” It’s not until half way through the poem that the first-person voice is introduced: “my little loaf” (Line 9). This dramatically shifts the poem from being told to the reader to being told to someone off page. This voice appears again in the second stanza, with “our traveled prawn” (Line 12). The word “our” introduces another character, the unborn baby’s father, into the world of the poem. However, the extended use of the second-person pronouns dissolves the wall between the reader and the poem, allowing them to see and feel the speaker’s experience.

Language and Meaning

Like the majority of Sylvia Plath’s poems, this poem uses everyday vernacular in creative new ways. The piece is full...