Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
An unnamed first-person speaker with an unusually perceptive personality, seemingly living in a large city
Form and Meter
Free-verse tercets of varying length
Metaphors and Similes
The woman's heart is described as blooming through her coat, which is a metaphor for the blood that is visible on her coat.
Flowers are metaphorically compared to mouths "crying open."
Alliteration and Assonance
Soft alliterative "S" and "F" sounds are repeated in the phrases "sun-clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts" and "In a forest of frosts."
The similar, assonant vowel sounds in "Dulled to a halt under bowlers" reinforce the monotony being described.
Irony
Plath's choice to compare a bleeding woman to a poppy, unexpectedly situating the woman as an example of beauty, uses irony to prompt a reevaluation of what counts as beautiful. Similarly, her comparison of bowler hats and carbon monoxide as two examples of contemporary degradation uses irony to prompt a reconsideration of the underlying similarities between the overtly toxic and the mildly genteel.
Genre
Lyric poetry
Setting
A busy urban area, but with references to a pastoral setting
Tone
Appreciative, pensive
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the poem is the speaker, while the antagonist is abstract—the numbing nature of modern city life.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the poem is between the world of beauty and sensation, represented by the poppies, and the world of money and insensitivity.
Climax
The climax of the poem is the speaker's appeal to God in an attempt to appreciate, contextualize, and understand the beauty of the flowers.
Foreshadowing
Understatement
The speaker's statement that the poppies are "unasked for" understates the numb, inattentive attitude the other city dwellers have towards the flowers.
Allusions
The image of bowler hats alludes to the culture of 1950s London's financial sector. The image of a woman with a bleeding, "blooming" heart may allude to Jesus, often depicted with a bleeding heart and with red flowers symbolizing his wounds.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"Bowler hats" is used as metonymy for businessmen wearing such hats.
Personification
The speaker personifies the clouds, hinting that they are consciously competing with the poppies.
Hyperbole
The speaker uses hyperbole when describing the poppies, telling us that they are redder than everything else, including the sun-clouds and even blood.
