Poetry Analysis Research Paper: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
One of Sylvia Plath’s most well known poems, “Daddy”, is based around her complicated relationships with prominent figures in her life. Throughout the poem she includes certain metaphors, diction, and repetition to fully portray the negative impact these people have had on her life. Plath’s main focus is her father and how their relationship has changed throughout her life. As indicated by Jon Rosenblatt in Sylvia Plath: The Poetry of Initiation, “"Daddy" is, of course, Plath 's most extended treatment of the father symbol”. Later, she introduces her husband and how he compares to her father. In Plath 's poem “Daddy”, she uses a familiar figure to create a metaphor to a negative influence: a Nazi, the devil, and a vampire.
In “Daddy”, Sylvia Plath compares an important figure in her life to a malicious Nazi. First, she wanted to convey his villainous qualities by describing the setting of World War II in a small Polish town, where Nazis were extremely cruel towards the Jewish population. Repetition is frequent in this poem to emphasize the idea being conveyed. For example she states “in the Polish town… Of wars, wars, wars.”. This reveals how evident the war was during this period and how this person has made her feel like she is living in such a destructive environment. Also, Plath states, “It stuck in the barb wire snare. Ich, ich, ich, ich.” This “barb wire snare” was a torture …show more content…
Her use of many literary devices, including metaphors, diction, and repetition help convey this negative idea. Along with her father, she also shows the controlling and draining relationship she had with her husband, whom, to her dismay, was very similar to her father. Mainly, she uses three metaphors to compare her father, along with her husband, to a Nazi, the devil, and a
One of Sylvia Plath’s most well known poems, “Daddy”, is based around her complicated relationships with prominent figures in her life. Throughout the poem she includes certain metaphors, diction, and repetition to fully portray the negative impact these people have had on her life. Plath’s main focus is her father and how their relationship has changed throughout her life. As indicated by Jon Rosenblatt in Sylvia Plath: The Poetry of Initiation, “"Daddy" is, of course, Plath 's most extended treatment of the father symbol”. Later, she introduces her husband and how he compares to her father. In Plath 's poem “Daddy”, she uses a familiar figure to create a metaphor to a negative influence: a Nazi, the devil, and a vampire.
In “Daddy”, Sylvia Plath compares an important figure in her life to a malicious Nazi. First, she wanted to convey his villainous qualities by describing the setting of World War II in a small Polish town, where Nazis were extremely cruel towards the Jewish population. Repetition is frequent in this poem to emphasize the idea being conveyed. For example she states “in the Polish town… Of wars, wars, wars.”. This reveals how evident the war was during this period and how this person has made her feel like she is living in such a destructive environment. Also, Plath states, “It stuck in the barb wire snare. Ich, ich, ich, ich.” This “barb wire snare” was a torture …show more content…
Her use of many literary devices, including metaphors, diction, and repetition help convey this negative idea. Along with her father, she also shows the controlling and draining relationship she had with her husband, whom, to her dismay, was very similar to her father. Mainly, she uses three metaphors to compare her father, along with her husband, to a Nazi, the devil, and a