Introduction: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath first appeared in 1965 in her posthumously published collection, Ariel, is characterized by its raw, visceral language and stark imagery, delving into the complex and tormented relationship between the speaker and her deceased father. The poem employs a dark and often disturbing tone, utilizing disturbing metaphors and allusions to the Holocaust and Nazism to convey the speaker’s feelings of oppression and trauma. “Daddy” is a powerful and unsettling exploration of grief, anger, and the lasting impact of parental figures.
Text: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time——
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal
And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.
In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend
Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.
It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene
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.
The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna
Are not very pure or true.
With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.
I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You——
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who
Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I’m finally through.
The black telephone’s off at the root,
The voices just can’t worm through.
If I’ve killed one man, I’ve killed two——
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
Daddy, you can lie back now.
There’s a stake in your fat black heart
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.
Annotations: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
| Stanza | Annotation |
| 1 | The speaker describes her relationship with her father, comparing him to a black shoe she’s been trapped in. |
| 2 | The speaker says she’s had to “kill” her father, who died before she could understand him. |
| 3 | The speaker recalls her father’s German heritage and her own conflicted feelings about it. |
| 4 | The speaker describes her inability to communicate with her father, even after his death. |
| 5 | The speaker identifies with the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, feeling a sense of shared suffering. |
| 6 | The speaker addresses her father’s Nazi past and her own fear of him. |
| 7 | The speaker recalls her father’s presence in her life, even after his death. |
| 8 | The speaker describes her attempts to reconnect with her father, even in death. |
| 9 | The speaker creates a new image of her father, one that allows her to break free from his influence. |
| 10 | The speaker declares her independence from her father’s legacy. |
| 11 | The speaker confronts her father’s dark past and her own complicity in it. |
| 12 | The speaker finds closure, declaring “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.” |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
| Literary Device | Example | Explanation |
| Alliteration | “Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.” | The repetition of the ‘b’ sound creates a rhythmic effect and emphasizes the struggle to breathe. |
| Assonance | “In which I have lived like a foot” | The repetition of the ‘i’ sound creates a musical quality, enhancing the poem’s tone. |
| Metaphor | “Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,” | Compares the father to a marble-heavy, god-like statue, highlighting his oppressive and larger-than-life presence. |
| Simile | “Lived like a foot / For thirty years” | Compares the speaker’s life to that of a foot inside a shoe, suggesting confinement and restriction. |
| Imagery | “Bean green over blue / In the waters off beautiful Nauset.” | Vivid description of the sea colors and location, creating a strong visual image for the reader. |
| Hyperbole | “I have always been scared of you, / With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.” | Exaggerates the father’s attributes to emphasize the speaker’s fear and the father’s intimidating presence. |
| Personification | “An engine, an engine / Chuffing me off like a Jew.” | Gives the engine human-like qualities, emphasizing the mechanical and relentless nature of oppression. |
| Allusion | “Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen” | References to Holocaust concentration camps, invoking historical atrocities to deepen the poem’s impact. |
| Irony | “Every woman adores a Fascist” | The statement is ironic because it contrasts the horrific nature of Fascism with the idea of adoration, highlighting the complexity of the speaker’s feelings. |
| Anaphora | “Ich, ich, ich, ich” | The repetition of “ich” (I) at the beginning of successive lines emphasizes the speaker’s struggle with identity and expression. |
| Consonance | “So black no sky could squeak through.” | The repetition of the ‘k’ sound enhances the harshness and finality of the statement. |
| Symbolism | “The black telephone’s off at the root” | The black telephone symbolizes the severed connection with the father, indicating finality and liberation. |
| Tone | “Daddy, I’m finally through.” | The tone here is resolute and triumphant, marking the speaker’s declaration of independence from her father’s influence. |
| Juxtaposition | “Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You—— / Not God but a swastika” | Juxtaposes the image of a powerful Panzer-man with the swastika, contrasting humanity and inhumanity. |
| Oxymoron | “Ghastly statue” | Combines contradictory terms to describe the father, highlighting his haunting and imposing nature. |
| Apostrophe | “Daddy, I have had to kill you.” | Directly addresses the father, despite his absence, creating an emotional and confrontational tone. |
| Paradox | “I may be a bit of a Jew.” | The paradox lies in the speaker’s claim of being Jewish, despite not being Jewish by heritage, symbolizing her identification with victimhood. |
| Enjambment | “I made a model of you, / A man in black with a Meinkampf look” | The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line creates a sense of urgency and fluidity. |
| Repetition | “Ach, du.” | The repetition of “Ach, du” emphasizes the emotional intensity and frustration of the speaker. |
| End Rhyme | “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.” | The rhyme of “through” with the earlier lines adds a sense of closure and finality to the poem’s conclusion. |
Themes: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
- Oppression and Power: “Daddy” explores themes of oppression and the overpowering presence of the father figure in the speaker’s life. Plath uses vivid imagery and metaphors to depict the father as an authoritarian figure, comparing him to a “black shoe” in which she has “lived like a foot / For thirty years.” This metaphor suggests confinement and suffocation, reflecting the oppressive control the father exerted over her. The repeated references to Nazi imagery, such as “Luftwaffe” and “swastika,” further emphasize the tyrannical power he held, likening his influence to the brutal and authoritarian regime of the Nazis.
- Identity and Self: The poem delves into the speaker’s struggle with her own identity, heavily influenced by her father’s domineering presence. Plath describes her inability to speak in his presence with lines like “The tongue stuck in my jaw. / It stuck in a barb wire snare. / Ich, ich, ich, ich.” This stuttering represents her struggle to find her own voice and assert her identity in the shadow of her father. The confusion about her heritage and identity is further highlighted when she says, “I think I may well be a Jew,” indicating her internal conflict and the extent to which her father’s influence has distorted her sense of self.
- Death and Mourning: “Daddy” is imbued with themes of death and mourning, reflecting the speaker’s complex feelings towards her deceased father. Plath expresses both a longing for and a rejection of her father, illustrating the ambivalence of her grief. She recalls her father’s death and her attempt to join him, saying, “At twenty I tried to die / And get back, back, back to you.” This demonstrates the deep sense of loss and unresolved mourning that plagues the speaker. Yet, by the end of the poem, she asserts her liberation from his memory with the powerful declaration, “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through,” indicating a desire to move beyond her grief.
- Conflict and Resolution: The poem is a journey through the speaker’s internal conflict and ultimate resolution regarding her father’s memory and influence. The intense emotions range from fear and resentment to a final act of defiance. The line, “I have had to kill you. / You died before I had time,” underscores the unresolved conflict she feels towards her father’s premature death and the lasting impact on her life. The resolution comes as she metaphorically kills his overpowering influence by stating, “There’s a stake in your fat black heart,” symbolizing her triumph over his oppressive memory. This resolution is a cathartic release, enabling her to declare, “Daddy, I’m finally through,” signifying her emancipation from his control.
Literary Theories and “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
| Literary Theory | Reference from the Poem | Analysis |
| Psychoanalytic Theory | “Daddy, / You died before I had time——” (lines 2-3) | The speaker’s fixation on her father’s death and her feelings of abandonment and anger towards him reveal a classic Oedipal complex. |
| Feminist Theory | “Every woman adores a Fascist, / The boot in the face, the brute / Brute heart of a brute like you.” (lines 48-50) | The speaker critiques the patriarchal society that glorifies masculine power and dominance, and condemns her father’s fascist ideology. |
| Postcolonial Theory | “I have always been scared of you, / With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.” (lines 33-34) | The speaker’s fear of her father’s German heritage and her own conflicted identity as a result of colonialism and war are evident in these lines. |
Critical Questions about “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
- How does Plath use imagery and language to portray her complex relationship with her father?
- Plath employs visceral and often disturbing imagery to depict her father as a domineering and oppressive figure. The metaphors of “black shoe” and “Ghastly statue with one grey toe” paint a picture of a cold, unfeeling presence that has confined and stifled her. The use of German words like “Ach, du” and references to the Holocaust further emphasizes the oppressive and destructive nature of this relationship, highlighting its lasting impact on the speaker’s psyche.
- What is the significance of the recurring motif of Nazism and the Holocaust in the poem?
- Plath uses the imagery of Nazism and the Holocaust to symbolize the power dynamics and trauma within her relationship with her father. The father is likened to a Nazi officer, while the speaker identifies with the Jewish victims, suggesting feelings of persecution and victimization. This comparison serves to magnify the intensity of the speaker’s emotions and her perception of the father as a tyrannical figure who has inflicted deep psychological wounds.
- How does the poem explore the themes of identity and self-discovery?
- Throughout the poem, the speaker grapples with her identity, questioning her heritage and sense of self due to the influence of her father. The repeated phrase “I think I may well be a Jew” reflects this uncertainty and the internalization of her father’s oppressive identity. However, the act of writing and confronting her past through the poem can be seen as a step towards reclaiming her own voice and identity, separate from the shadow of her father.
- What is the significance of the final stanza and the declaration “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through”?
- This final declaration is a powerful assertion of independence and liberation from the father’s influence. The use of the derogatory term “bastard” signifies a rejection of his authority and a refusal to be defined by his memory. The repetition of “Daddy” emphasizes the speaker’s final break from the childish term of endearment, signifying a newfound maturity and self-assurance. The concluding line “I’m through” suggests a sense of closure and the end of a long and painful struggle with the past.
Literary Works Similar to “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
- “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath: Both poems explore themes of death, resurrection, and defiance against oppression. “Lady Lazarus” delves into the speaker’s repeated attempts at suicide and her subsequent rebirths, much like “Daddy” deals with the speaker’s relationship with her deceased father and her struggle for liberation.
- “The Colossus” by Sylvia Plath: This poem also addresses the overwhelming presence of a father figure. In “The Colossus,” Plath depicts her father as a monumental statue, symbolizing his imposing and dominating influence, similar to the authoritarian image portrayed in “Daddy.”
- “The Applicant” by Sylvia Plath: “The Applicant” critiques societal expectations and the dehumanizing effects of conforming to roles, paralleling the sense of entrapment and rebellion found in “Daddy.” Both poems highlight Plath’s critique of oppressive structures and her struggle for identity.
- “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas: This poem shares a thematic focus on death and defiance. While Thomas urges his father to resist death fiercely, “Daddy” features a similar intensity of emotion as the speaker confronts and ultimately breaks free from her father’s overpowering legacy.
- “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden: Both poems explore complex father-child relationships marked by fear, reverence, and unspoken tensions. In “Those Winter Sundays,” Hayden reflects on his father’s sacrifices and the speaker’s delayed understanding, akin to the ambivalent feelings of love and resentment in “Daddy.
Suggested Readings: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
Books:
- Axelrod, Steven Gould. Sylvia Plath: The Wound and the Cure of Words. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1990.
- Wagner-Martin, Linda. Sylvia Plath: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
Weblinks:
- Poetry Foundation: Daddy: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48999/daddy-56d22aafa45b2
- Modern American Poetry: Sylvia Plath: https://modernamericanpoetry.org/index.php/daddy
Representative Quotations of “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Concept |
| “You died before I had time——” | Speaker’s father’s death | Psychoanalytic Theory: Oedipal complex, father fixation |
| “Every woman adores a Fascist, / The boot in the face, the brute / Brute heart of a brute like you.” | Critique of patriarchal society | Feminist Theory: critique of patriarchal power, gender dynamics |
| “I have always been scared of you, / With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.” | Fear of father’s German heritage | Postcolonial Theory: colonialism, identity conflict |
| “I thought every German was you. / And the language obscene” | Association of language with father | Lacanian Psychoanalysis: language as symbolic order, father as symbolic figure |
| “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.” | Speaker’s declaration of independence | Feminist Theory: empowerment, breaking free from patriarchal constraints |