Daddy In the poem “Daddy”, Sylvia Plath says that there are women who, due to early conditioning, find themselves without the tools to deal with oppressive and controlling men. They are left feeling helpless and hopeless. For some women, the struggle is never resolved, others take most of a lifetime. For a lucky few, they are granted a reprieve.
The character in this poem is Sylvia Plath. The poem describes her feelings of oppression and her battle to come to grips with the issues of this power imbalance. The poem also tells about the struggle many women face in a male dominated society. The conflict of this poem is male authority and control versus the right of a female to be herself, to make choices, and be free of male domination. Plath’s conflicts begin in her relationship with her father and continues with her husband. The intensity of this conflict is extremely apparent as she uses examples that cannot be ignored.
NAZI’ Germany is used as a symbol of the horror of male domination. The constant and crippling manipulation of the male, as he introduces oppression and hopelessness into the lives of his women, is equated with the twentieth century’s worst period. Words such as Luftwaffe, panzer man, and Mein kampf are used to describe her father and husband as well as all male domination. The frequent use of the word black throughout the poem conveys a feeling of gloom and suffocation.
Like many women in society, we know that Plath felt oppressed and stifled throughout her life by her use of the simile “I have lived like a shoe for thirty years poor and white, barely able to breath or Achoo.” The use of similes and metaphors such as “Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Bels on.” and “I think I may well be a Jew” clearly shows the feelings of anguished hopelessness and the ripping agony she must have felt. The agelessness of this poem is guaranteed a there will always be women who feel the same torture that is described… Strong images are conveyed throughout the poem.
The Essay on Lots Of Imagery Poem Mushrooms Women
I have chosen to discuss about Mushrooms and Youre. Intro: The titles of the poems can tell you a lot about them before you have even began to read to read them. For example the poem Youre. Well first of all its title tells us that the speaker is going to be talking about or describing someone or something. The poem Mushrooms does not necessarily have to be about Mushrooms because of what the ...
The words “marble-heavy, a. bag full of God” conveys the omniscience of her father’s authority and the heaviness it weighed on her throughout her life. “The vampire who said he was you, and drank my blood for a year, seven years if you want to know” describe her husband and the ability of male power to strip a person of their own sense of themselves. The poem is written in stanzas of five short lines. These lines are short but extremely powerful. An example of this “If I’ve killed one man I’ve killed two-The vampire who said he was you.” The powerful imagery of these lines overpowers any of the rhyme scheme.
The tone of this poem is an adult engulfed in outrage. This outrage, at times, slips into the tears of a child. This is evident by Plath’s continued use of the word daddy and the childlike repetition “You do not do, you do not do” and “Daddy, daddy, you bastard.” Fear from her childhood moves her in directions that will take her far from herself. In one line in the poem she brings us starkly into the world of a child’s fear. She uses words that sound like the words of a child staring out at us from behind “a barbwire snare”I have always been scared of you.” This poem portrays a picture of life for some women.
However, we know that Plath was able to resolve her conflicts. She states ” Daddy I’ve had to kill you” and “Daddy, you can lie back now. There’s a stake in your big fat black heart” A though it appears that Plath has reached resolution this is not the case for many women who find themselves under the thumb of a male. These women should look to this poem for help. It is a hope poem, that shows women can triumph over their oppressors. I thought this poem was very deep.
Critical Essay On Poem Daddy By Sylvia Plath
Daddy by Sylvia Plath Is there a poem which genuinely shocked or inspired you? Explain what aspects of the poem language and ideas produced this response. The poem "Daddy" by the American poet Sylvia Plath is the first poem I have read which has left me with a feeling of absolute shock. This is due to the main theme being based on the poet's hatred towards the memory of her father, who left her ...
It was said to read, but it made me aware of the problems some women endure and the suffering they go through.
