Symbolism of a Feminist Poem in Sylvia Plath
Symbolism of a Feminist Poem in Sylvia Plath
Some literary critics have linked Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy" (524), as a confessional or autobiographical poem about the relationship with her father. Undoubtedly, she references her own personal life, however, “Daddy”, should not only be read in a narrow sense, as her intentions are to convey a more significant theme. The tone of the poem expresses a strong disdain towards not only her father and husband, but towards the male gender. It is arguable that one of the central themes encompasses the struggles of women as being cast in the shadows of men. Through the use of imagery, allusion and written using purposeful linguistic and impactful historical events, Plath creates an experience the reader can share.
On the surface of the poem, the speaker launches a course of verbal attacks against her father, referring to him as a “ghastly statue”, “a Frisco seal”, a “[Nazis] swastika”, “a brute”, and finishes in the final line calling him a “bastard”. The speaker casts her father into authoritative roles such as God, a Nazi, the Devil, and Hitler himself, all emblematic of a dictatorial force, typically portrayed by a male figure - violence, genocide, and control. Daddy is an allusion of the male; an illustrative of a broader spectrum as science and reason, violence and war, the Germans and their Hitler, and all other agents of oppression in the world. In contrast, the speaker represents the female - a creative, humble, and loving side of humanity.
“In Plath 's academic life . . . the Holocaust was a topic in both high school and college.” (Strangeway, "The Boot in the Face"), as well as taking a personal interest in the subject. She chooses to make reference to this historical context to create a connection on multiple levels. The seventh stanza reads: An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew. (525)
On a personal
Some literary critics have linked Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy" (524), as a confessional or autobiographical poem about the relationship with her father. Undoubtedly, she references her own personal life, however, “Daddy”, should not only be read in a narrow sense, as her intentions are to convey a more significant theme. The tone of the poem expresses a strong disdain towards not only her father and husband, but towards the male gender. It is arguable that one of the central themes encompasses the struggles of women as being cast in the shadows of men. Through the use of imagery, allusion and written using purposeful linguistic and impactful historical events, Plath creates an experience the reader can share.
On the surface of the poem, the speaker launches a course of verbal attacks against her father, referring to him as a “ghastly statue”, “a Frisco seal”, a “[Nazis] swastika”, “a brute”, and finishes in the final line calling him a “bastard”. The speaker casts her father into authoritative roles such as God, a Nazi, the Devil, and Hitler himself, all emblematic of a dictatorial force, typically portrayed by a male figure - violence, genocide, and control. Daddy is an allusion of the male; an illustrative of a broader spectrum as science and reason, violence and war, the Germans and their Hitler, and all other agents of oppression in the world. In contrast, the speaker represents the female - a creative, humble, and loving side of humanity.
“In Plath 's academic life . . . the Holocaust was a topic in both high school and college.” (Strangeway, "The Boot in the Face"), as well as taking a personal interest in the subject. She chooses to make reference to this historical context to create a connection on multiple levels. The seventh stanza reads: An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew. (525)
On a personal
Cited: "Interview with Sylvia Plath." Interview by Peter Orr. YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 1 July 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. . Plath, Sylvia. "Daddy." Literature for Composition: Essays, Stories, Poems, and Plays. Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th Ed. Boston: Longman, 2010. 524-26. Print. Strangeways, Al. ""The Boot in the Face": The Problem of the Holocaust in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath." Contemporary Literature 37.3 (1996): 370. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. . "Sylvia Plath." Feminist Writers. Ed. Pamela Kester-Shelton. Detroit: St. James, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .