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What Is The Mood Of The Poem Daddy By Silvia Plath

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The poem Daddy by Silvia Plath is an intricate commentary on a young girl's relationship with her abusive father. Silvia writes about her early life comparing many aspects of it to Nazi Germany which naturally brings with it an eerie and even despondent tone. Such a comparison, being something that is collectively identified as of of the worst atrocities to happen in the history of human kind, creates a strong image in the mind of the reader as to the kind of relationship that Sylvia had with her father. Through her use of a free verse form, despondent tone, historical symbolism, and sinister setting she effectively illustrates the trials and tribulations she faced throughout her youth.

Although the poem Daddy lacks a set rhyme scheme, Sylvia Plath utilizes the effects of both end and internal rhymes throughout. The first line of the poem is "You do not do, you do not do". The beginning of the poem has an end rhyme of the "oo" sound as in the word "do" and is carried out through the rest of the poem which ends in the word "through". The poem is essentially held together by the rhyme and creates a sense of proper flow and continuity. Sylvia Plath also utilizes repetition to place emphasis on certain things. Line 15-17, "The polish town scraped flat by the roller of wars, wars, wars", uses repetition to imply the devastation of multiple wars to a …show more content…

The setting, changing from many places jumps from Auchuwitz to a ghastly statue the size of an entire country, to a cold and snowy Vienna. In the line "The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna" such a description draws a picture of a somber and hopeless place in her life. The winter representing the sometimes inescapable cold and harshness of times, Sylvia Plath effectively provides the reader with a window of opportunity to step into her shoes and imagine what she felt in response to her father's oppressive

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Comparing and contrasting Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, one finds the two poems are similar with their themes of abuse, yet contrasting with how the themes are portrayed. Furthermore, the speaker 's feelings toward their fathers’ in each poem contrast. One speaker was hurt by the father and the other speaker was indifferent about how he was treated by his father. The fathers’ feelings toward the children are also different despite how each treated the child. Both poems accurately portray the parent-child relationships within an abusive home, even if they have different

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An example of imagery throughout the book is, “The snow came so suddenly that i left home

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In the scenario of imperialism in an Eurocentric worldview, the children are non-Europeans while the parents that need to guide them are Europeans, also referred to as the “best breed” of human. Such worldview promotes a superficial way of thinking, and is meant to inspire other Europeans to try and absorb the “White Man’s burden” into an European way of life. The poem is written as a result of witnessing the cultural practices of those who were native to the countries being explored, they felt the need to assimilate

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Humanity is full of errors and chances which establish life. The flexibility and unpredictability of snow reflects the human nature. For example, melting snow becomes feeble and turns to a transparent water which is demonstrating the wretched, but most common characteristics of mankind. Like in the story “The Dead” Gretta breaks down in to tears after listening an Irish song which reminds her about a boy she used to love during her girlhood, and shows the melted character like snowflakes and becomes transparent to her husband. "He was very fond of me and he was such a gentle boy.

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Snow serves as a symbol of the love the couple once shared together. The narrator explains the night of the “big snow”, “Remember the night, out on the lawn, knee-deep in snow, chins pointed to the sky as the wind whirled down all that whiteness?” (108) which is a symbol of the climax of the love and happiness shared between the two lovers. However, the narrator uses the idea of snow once again, “just a few dots of white, no field of snow” (109) to contrast the previous image. The few dots of white symbolize the absence or dwindling of love and affection that was once shared in the house the narrator passes by.

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