Sylvia Plath's "The Munich Mannequins" examines the deadening cruelty of objectification. The poem's speaker (a figure who seems to speak for Plath herself) regards the "mannequins" of Munich—that is, the city's doll-like young women—with dismay. These women's efforts to live up to a standard of artificial "perfection," she feels, can only cut them off from their full humanity and their feminine power. This poem first appeared in Plath's posthumous collection, Ariel (1965).
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The Full Text of “The Munich Mannequins”
The Full Text of “The Munich Mannequins”
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“The Munich Mannequins” Summary
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“The Munich Mannequins” Themes
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The Objectification and Dehumanization of Women
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-27
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Motherhood and Femininity
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-9
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Munich Mannequins”
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Lines 1-5
Perfection is terrible, ...
... to no purpose. -
Lines 6-9
The blood flood ...
... Me and you. -
Lines 10-12
So, in their ...
... Paris and Rome, -
Lines 13-15
Naked and bald ...
... Intolerable, without minds. -
Lines 16-20
The snow drops ...
... will go tomorrow. -
Lines 21-23
O the domesticity ...
... their bottomless Stolz. -
Lines 24-27
And the black ...
... has no voice.
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“The Munich Mannequins” Symbols
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Snow
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Cold as snow breath”
- Line 16: “The snow drops its pieces of darkness,”
- Line 27: “The snow has no voice.”
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Telephones
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 24-27: “And the black phones on hooks / Glittering / Glittering and digesting / Voicelessness.”
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Yew Trees
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Where the yew trees blow like hydras,”
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“The Munich Mannequins” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Cold as snow breath”
- Line 3: “the yew trees blow like hydras”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Perfection is terrible, it cannot have children.”
- Line 4: “The tree of life and the tree of life”
- Line 5: “Unloosing their moons”
- Lines 6-7: “The blood flood is the flood of love, / The absolute sacrifice.”
- Line 11: “These mannequins lean tonight”
- Line 12: “Munich, morgue between Paris and Rome,”
- Line 13: “Naked and bald in their furs,”
- Line 14: “Orange lollies on silver sticks,”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 2: “snow”
- Line 4: “The tree of life and the tree of life”
- Line 5: “month after month”
- Lines 8-9: “me, / Me”
- Line 16: “snow”
- Line 25: “Glittering”
- Line 26: “Glittering”
- Line 27: “Voicelessness,” “snow,” “voice”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 13-14: “Naked and bald in their furs, / Orange lollies on silver sticks,”
- Line 22: “The baby lace, the green-leaved confectionery,”
- Lines 24-27: “And the black phones on hooks / Glittering / Glittering and digesting / Voicelessness.”
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Synecdoche
Where synecdoche appears in the poem:- Lines 18-20: “Hands will be opening doors and setting / Down shoes for a polish of carbon / Into which broad toes will go tomorrow.”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “terrible, it”
- Line 2: “breath, it”
- Line 5: “moons, month,” “month, to”
- Line 8: “means: no”
- Line 10: “So, in,” “loveliness, in”
- Line 12: “Munich, morgue”
- Line 15: “Intolerable, without”
- Line 17: “about. In”
- Line 22: “lace, the”
- Line 27: “Voicelessness. The”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 3: “like hydras”
- Line 4: “life”
- Line 5: “Unloosing,” “moons”
- Line 6: “blood flood,” “flood,” “love”
- Line 8: “means,” “me”
- Line 10: “sulfur loveliness”
- Line 13: “bald”
- Line 14: “lollies,” “silver sticks”
- Line 17: “Nobody's,” “hotels”
- Line 18: “opening”
- Line 20: “toes,” “go tomorrow”
- Line 21: “O,” “domesticity,” “windows”
- Line 22: “baby lace,” “green-leaved confectionery”
- Line 27: “snow,” “no”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “terrible,” “cannot”
- Line 2: “Cold,” “tamps”
- Line 3: “like”
- Line 4: “life”
- Line 5: “moons,” “month”
- Line 8: “means,” “more,” “me”
- Line 10: “So,” “sulfur,” “smiles”
- Line 11: “mannequins”
- Line 12: “Munich,” “morgue”
- Line 14: “silver sticks”
- Line 16: “drops,” “darkness”
- Line 17: “hotels”
- Line 18: “Hands”
- Line 22: “lace,” “leaved”
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Anaphora
Where anaphora appears in the poem:- Line 1: “it”
- Line 2: “it”
- Line 10: “in their,” “in their”
- Line 21: “the”
- Line 22: “The,” “the”
- Line 23: “The”
- Line 24: “the”
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“The Munich Mannequins” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Tamps
- Womb
- Yew trees
- Hydras
- Unloosing their moons
- Idols
- Sulfur
- Mannequins
- Morgue
- Lollies
- A polish of carbon
- Domesticity
- Confectionery
- Stolz
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(Location in poem: Line 2: “tamps the womb”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Munich Mannequins”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Munich Mannequins” Speaker
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“The Munich Mannequins” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Munich Mannequins”
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More “The Munich Mannequins” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read out loud.
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An Interview with Plath — Listen to Plath herself discussing her poetic career.
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A Short Biography — Learn more about Plath's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.
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The Sylvia Plath Society — Visit the website of the Sylvia Plath Society to learn more about Plath's continued influence.
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A Celebration of Plath — Read an article in which contemporary artists reflect on what Plath means to them.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Sylvia Plath
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