Carolyn Kizer Bitch Poem Analysis

“Anger is a basic human emotion that is experienced by all people” (Mills, 2005). It is a natural response that is triggered when someone feels hurt or mistreated. Although, it is not just a clear-cut emotion that consists of one general feeling that is the same for everyone. The levels of anger that a person feels may not always be identical and there are varying degrees of responses that someone can express when they are experiencing this sentiment. How often a person gets angry, how intensely they feel this emotion, and how long it lasts varies for every individual. This results in a range of intensity of the anger that they express. How a person decides to handle this emotional signal can be a decisive factor as to any consequential effects …show more content…
It is clear to see in the poem that it has been some time since the two individuals last saw each other and that the speaker has let tensions grow over an unresolved issue. The female speaker mentions “Now, when [we] meet, after all these years” (Kizer, 948, 1) which would imply that several years have gone by since their last meeting. As one continues to read, the feelings of resentment that are felt are brought to attention. In line three, she refers to the man as a “trespasser” and then proceeds to say that he is “just an old acquaintance tipping his hat” (Kizer, 948, 4). The manner in which she refers to him alone would reveal the bitterness that she has for this man. As if this was not enough, readers are presented with the metaphorical incarnation of her inner “bitch”. It is through this manifestation that one can identify the hurt that runs deep inside of her and that she tries hard to conceal. When the two first greet one another, “the bitch starts to bark hysterically” (Kizer, 948, 6). This “bitch”, is acting as the speaker’s protector and demonstrates its aggressiveness towards this disliked individual. She must remind herself that “he isn’t an enemy now” (Kizer, 948, 7) and that he can no longer do her any harm. It is following “a kind word from him” (Kizer, 948, 10) that there is a change in the manner in which the “bitch” is reacting. It is almost …show more content…
In the case of the speaker in “Daddy”, she can no longer receive that closure of forgiveness from her father for controlling her life because he is dead. The notion that time only fosters negative growth of resentment is prominently featured in the poem. She lived with this suppressed anger and bitterness “For thirty years,” (Plath, 953, 4). Growing up, she was so suffocated that she “barely dared to breathe or Achoo” (Plath, 953, 5). This form of restrictive behavior is what forced her to keep these emotions in, allowing them to grow to the point that she tried to commit suicide as a means of escape. There are countless amounts of evidence that point to the fact that the speaker had problems with her father, but not enough time to resolve them. She felt that she “never could talk to [him] / The tongue stuck in [her] jaw” (Plath, 953, 24-25). Whatever may have happened, was shut down by her inability to articulate her feelings. She felt that she “had to kill [him] / [but he] died before [she] had time” (Plath, 593, 6-7). Being that her father was the only male figure she came to know, it does not come as a surprise when it is mentioned that she married a man who resembled him. Not only are her feelings of bitterness for her father presented in the poem, but these emotions are then also directed at her husband whom she refers to as “the vampire