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War poetry analysis
Analysis of daddy sylvia plath
Analysis of daddy sylvia plath
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A close analysis of "Daddy" and "Zonnebeke Road."
The two poems I have chosen to analyse are "Zonnebeke Road" by Edmund Blunden and "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath. I chose these two poems for the simple reasons that they both moved me when I read them and the fact that they are both about very deep and almost disturbing personal experiences.
"Zonnebeke Road" takes us through the thoughts, mood and gloomy surroundings of a soldier in the front line trenches on Zonnebeke Road in Belgium. Zonnebeke Road was an area of heavy fighting during the First World War where masses of soldiers were killed. This poem encapsulates the savageness and brutality of war with the use of an almost sarcastic tone, chilling imagery and the personification of nature.
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This emulates Sylvia's state of mind at the time of writing this poem; she has mixed emotions towards her father that she cannot put down in any sort of chronological order. Sylvia Plath uses harsh, guttural sounds to emphasise the military role she sees her father played in her life.
"It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak."
The use of the German language is another indication of how Sylvia Plath imagines her father in the role of a German Nazi soldier.
The word "you" used over and over almost like a chant really emphasises how she feels about her father and how he played a large role in her life when he was alive and also now that he is dead. The chant like repartition of "you" also reflects the style in which German military rules are enforced.
"You do not do, you do not do"
There is a wide range of images created throughout the poem of Sylvia Plath's father and one also of her husband. She refers to her father as different figures of hatred and immorality such as the Nazi soldier (as I have mentioned before), the devil and a vampire. She also likens her husband to a
The powerful poem ‘Weapons Training’ showcases a sergeant, through malicious words, guiding his troops. However it is through ‘Homecoming’, where Dawe exposes the brutal hopelessness brought forth by the futility of war. Therefore it can be seen that war has an emotional toll on both families and the soldiers. Both poems have a recurring message that all war does is bring loss, death and mourning, showcasing Dawes strong opinions about a futile
The overall general theme of both poems is about the author’s father. Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” may both reference their fathers, but their relationship and attitudes towards them differ immensely. “My Papa’s Waltz” features a theme of fear and love towards the father, while “Daddy” features hatred and loathing towards her father. Roethke uses imagery and diction that makes the reader feel different emotions. The imagery of a father with whiskey on his breath and battered knuckles paints a picture of a scruffy, rugged man.
In American society, the common stereotype is that the father has the role of the dominant figure in the household. Sylvia Plath and Sharon Olds may come across as two seemingly different poets, however, they are really quite similar, especially in their driving forces behind their writing styles in poetry. The lives of Plath and Olds are both expressive of the realities of a father-dominated family, in which both of these poets lost their fathers at a young age. This is significant because both poets have faced a similar traumatic event that has had everlasting effects on their adult womanhood, which is reflected in their writings. For both these woman, their accesses to father-daughter relationships were denied based on life circumstances. Ironically, their fathers were their muses for writing and are what made them the women they are today.
As we can see both these poems have a clear image of war, and the
The images drawn in this poem are so graphic that it could make readers feel sick. For example, in these lines: "If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood/ Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs/ Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud,"(21-23) shows us that so many men were brutally killed during this war. Also, when the gas bomb was dropped, "[s]omeone still yelling out and stumbling/ [a]nd flound'ring like a man in fire or lime.../ [h]e plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning."(11-12,16) These compelling lines indicate that men drowned helplessly in the toxic gasses. These graphic images are very disturbing but play a very effective role in the development of the poem.
It displays a darker tone from the point of view of a soldier in the midst of the battlefield. It first depicts a bleak and depressing scene of war. “And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots but limped on, blood-shod.” This shows that the author does not support war, and is using descriptive language to persuade the reader. It goes on to describe a situation where the death of a soldier is witnessed; “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling and flound’ring like a man in fir or lime... As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” This dark mood shows the seriousness of war, and how the author wants to demonstrate the dangers of war. The author then concludes the poem with the line, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”. In doing so he call this the “Old lie”, implying that the statement, translating to “It is sweet and right to die for your country.” Is completely false, and that it is not right to go as far as to die for your nation. This piece is trying to depict the harsh realities of war, and goes so far as to shoot down patriotic beliefs supporting
This opening paragraph is a simple, poetic version of the main theme behind All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. The point of the story is to show that war is not romantic, glorious, or fantastic. In fact, those words could not be further from the truth. War is a disgusting competition of human instinct, fought by the wrong people. It brings out the worst in everyone; it destroys their compassion, honesty, and ideals. The beginning chapters of All Quiet on the Western Front are devoted to showing that warfare hardens soldiers against true emotions. Their main priority is survival, second is comfort, followed by gain.
Little Fugue by Sylvia Plath is my first example of how we all perceive our different relationships. This poem is about Plath talking of her father and herself and the lack of communication between the two.
Sylvia Plath’s jarring poem ‘Daddy’, is not only the exploration of her bitter and tumultuous relationship with her father, husband and perhaps the male species in general but is also a strong expression of resentment against the oppression of women by men and the violence and tyranny men can and have been held accountable for. Within the piece, the speaker creates a figurative image of her father by using metaphors to describe her relationship with him: “Not God but a Swastika” , he is a “… brute” , even likening him to leader of the Nazi Party; Adolf Hitler: “A man in black with a Meinkampf look .” Overall, the text is a telling recount of her hatred towards her father and her husband of “Seven years” and the tolling affect it has had on
“Can you play me a memory? I’m not really sure how it goes, but it’s sad and it’s sweet, and I knew it complete.” – Billy Joel, Piano Man. Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” reveals anger and sadness. This poem is full of emotions and it is very strong and passionate. Whereas Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is very hazy and full of descriptions about abuse and alcohol. In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting the two poems as they are in my eyes very similar, yet different.
How Sylvia Plath's Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus
In the poem, “Daddy,” Sylvia Plath shows her character to have a love for her father as well as an obvious sense of resentment and anger towards him. She sets the tone through the structure of the poem along with her use of certain diction, imagery, and metaphors/similes. The author, Sylvia Plath, chooses words that demonstrate the characters hatred and bitterness towards the oppression she is living with under the control of her father and later, her husband. Plath’s word choice includes many words that a child might use. There is also an integration of German words which help set the tone as well. She creates imagery through her use of metaphors and similes which allow the reader to connect certain ideas and convey the dark, depressing tone of the poem.
Plath, Sylvia. "Daddy." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
The first two lines have a lot to say about the whole poem, they are “I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy” (1-2) They are saying how there is a innocent young soldier who seemed to be very happy but he was actually just faking happiness. He did not actually want to be at war but he
Reveals and proves how free spirited and understanding she was. It conveys that people in your life can be influential, but only to a certain extent; then, it is up to the individual, to find the beauty and love in your life, and to find that in another human being is beautiful. Plath’s life was everything but easy. Plath conveys a myriad of themes in her poems from deaths to upbeat random ideas, which she demonstrates in her poems “Daddy,” “Fever 103,” and “Fiesta Melons.”