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Plath Daddy Poem Meaning

Decent Essays

The title of the poem “Daddy” immediately makes the reader think of authority due to the childish nature of the word. This is idea is reinforced from the first line of “You do not do, you do not do”, implying that someone is scolding a child perhaps. However, it could also have sexual undertones to it, referring to Plath’s relationship to her husband which could infer there were similarities between her father and her husband. Furthermore, this links to the idea that it could also have an underlying theme of abuse; whether this is abuse by her father or by her husband, is unclear through the title, but is explored throughout the poem.
Plath’s father, Otto Plath, had gangrene which eventually caused his entire leg to be amputated. Plath was severely impacted by his death as she feels as though she “lived like a foot”, suggesting that her father was negligent of Plath which made …show more content…

Plath broadens her feelings out to include all women, maybe because there are some who tolerate domestic abuse, or because fascist leaders like Hitler became something of a sex symbol in the states they controlled. Plath can be seen as an early feminist, so this statement can be argued to be ironic. The internal rhyme of ‘boot’ and ‘brute’, repeated 3 times, and the consonant ‘heart’; when read aloud, this sounds as one is spitting with disgust. The last few stanzas of the poem are ambiguous as Plath constantly repeats that she is “through”. It can be inferred that Plath is putting the past behind her and that the poem has feelings of closure towards her father, which makes the overall tone of the poem therapeutic, which makes the poem confessional, unlike the beginning of the poem where it appears the poem is conveying her bitterness. However, the telephone is mentioned as a form of communication. It is unclear whether she is ‘through’ meaning finished with him, or that she’s finally communicated her rejection of

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