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Re-read 'A Birthday Present'. By means of close analysis of the language of this poem, demonstrate how Plath achieves her effects in this poem, and by means of BRIEF reference to one or two other poems, say how typical of her writing you find it.
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Re-read 'A Birthday Present'. By means of close analysis of the language of this poem, demonstrate how Plath achieves her effects in this poem, and by means of BRIEF reference to one or two other poems, say how typical of her writing you find it. Plath's poem 'A Birthday Present' creates binary oppositions of images by using antithesis. An example of antithesis in this poem is when the narrator asks, "is it ugly, is it beautiful?" The adjectives 'ugly' and 'beautiful' are opposing images. The structure of this phrase is mirrored in the line below when the narrator asks, "has it breasts, has it edges?" These two images are opposite as when we imagine 'breasts' they are round and smooth and not sharp like an 'edge'. By using this linguistic device Plath creates a 'seesaw' effect between positive ('beautiful') and negative ('ugly') lexis. Plath uses this device of conflicting lexis throughout...
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