Kelli Halvin

Silvia Plath's "Sow" is an interesting and valuable poem to read because it shows how two characters can have extremely different views of the same thing, which is in this case a farmer's sow. The poem's speaker (who may be another neighbor, a relative, or friend) thinks of the pig (sow) with awe, viewing it as an incredible, huge, strong, prize-worthy hog that could become a perfect feast fit for a king. The neighbor, a farmer who presumably owns and raised the sow, has much different feelings towards his pig. He is very humble about it, thinking of it as nothing more than an ordinary pig, nothing great or unusual, and hiding it from the public eye. The narrator's and the neighbor's ideas towards the pig are shown through diction, sound, imagery, and allusions.

Diction such as "hulk", "monument", "legend", and "bulk" show the narrator's opinion of the sow, mainly the sow's amazing size, power, and overall greatness. In a similar and yet contrasting way, words such as "impounded", "barrel nape", and "pig" demonstrate to the reader how the neighbor views his sow humbly, hides it from public view, and thinks of it as nothing more than a common pig.

The sound of words used in this poem also adds to the differences in viewpoint between the narrator and the neighbor. For example, "heckling" and "crackling" utilize end rhyme to help bring to mind the narrator's view of the pig's greatness, by saying it is no ordinary pig. In the poem, these words are used together in this context to make the speaker's point. "nor dolt pig ripe for heckling, about to be glorified for prime flesh and golden crackling No, this vast Brobdingnag bulk" Although the two aforementioned words could be looked at as just words describing what the pig is not like, they also rhyme, therefore utilizing sound. They draw together and connect different aspects of the behavior, and taste of other pigs, by rhyming the

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words together. Then the narrator shifts the poem's subject from other pigs to the farmer's sow, swiftly contrasting the "hulk" of other pigs to the "bulk" of this particular sow. In a similar way to the first pair of rhyming words mentioned, "hulk" and "bulk" tie together the description of other sows to the new description of this, the neighbor farmer's sow. The narrator is being very persuasive, in terms of getting the reader to also view the sow in this way.

In addition to diction and sound, imagery shows the contrasting opinions towards the pig that are held by the narrator and the neighbor. "Brobdingnag bulk", "vision of ancient hoghood", and monument" call to mind visions of marvelous, gigantic, proud things, all in the name of demonstrating the narrator's view of awe and greatness to the reader, and persuading the reader to view the sow in the same way. Imagery is also used to show the neighbor's opinion towards his sow, through images like "barrel nape" and "green-copse-castled". The neighbor farmer, as has been prior stated, doesn't try to elevate his pig to a high and great place of admiration and glory, unlike the narrator. The farmer thinks of his sow as none other than an average, everyday pig, and nothing more.

Finally, allusions are used in this poem to connect the sow to other, unlike things. In line five, the pig is said to be "impounded". This could possibly be an allusion to an impounded automobile or other vehicle. Both the sow and an impounded vehicle are out of the public's view, and cannot be viewed, enjoyed, or "used". Another allusion is "ancient hoghood", in line 28. This allusion compares and connects the sow to the savage, wild hogs (boars) which have been fought by humans for thousands of years, whether on a small Pacific Island or in the myths of Ancient Greece. Historically, boars were feared and yet treasured. When a boar was killed by the hunters, all the people would celebrate the occasion and the feast. This allusion shows the speaker's view

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that the sow is a special thing and should be treasured and celebrated, like a hog from the past. The last and final allusion, in the final two lines of this poem, says that the sow "drank the seven oceans and all the continents". This is a very strong allusion, comparing a pig eating kitchen slops to it eating and drinking the entire Earth's surface. Like the previous allusions, this one shows the narrator's view that the sow is massive, great, and incredible.

The narrator's and neighbor's contrasting views and opinions towards the sow are made apparent to the reader through Plath's skillful utilization literary 'features', including diction, sound, imagery, and allusions. Through these techniques, the reader clearly sees how the narrator views the sow as an incredible, huge, strong creature that should be celebrated, and how the farmer neighbor thinks of the sow humbly, as a regular pig and nothing more.