Daddy Silvia Plath-Quotes

Question 1

What is the quote that refers to the speaker living in a shoe?

Answer 1

“black shoe in which i have lived like a foot for thirty years, poor and white barely daring to breath or achoo”

Stanza 1

Analysis:
* Imegery for how the speaker is trapped by this paternal shadow. The black shoe with negative connoations of black. For thrity years shows how the spaker has been trapped and the imegery of this is reflected by the speakers emotional state.

The speaker states, “I have lived like a foot for thirty years, Poor and white barely daring to breath or achoo.” This use of Plath’s language in particular the use of imagery of “lived like a foot;” just as a foot stuck inside a shoe for thirty years would be, deformed, broken, and ugly, so too is the speakers emotional state after living through the effects of loosing their father. This shows the speaker has lived a hard life and has been trapped by the trauma of their father, which has caused them to live a broken life.

Question 2

What is the Quote where the speaker describes the sky and a sqastika.

Answer 2

“Not god but a swastika so black no sky could squeak throuh”
Stanza 10

• *Analysis:
• This use of language in particular the word choice of “no sky could squeak through” is a display of the speakers despair when it comes to living a normal live free of the trauma of their father. The speaker is attempting to tell the reader that the impact their father has had on their emotions and their live as a whole, has been so great that no matter what changes in their life, and no matter what they do to attempt to escape this trauma, they will never be able to escape it. Just as a sky so black and covered with clouds blocks all sun light, so too does the trauma the speaker’s father have forced onto them has made it impossible for them to move on in life and find happiness.

Question 3

What is the quote where the speaker adresses them self as “I” In German?

Answer 3

“It stuck in a barb wire snare, ich, ich, ich, i could hardly speak”
Stanza 6

Analysis:

• She’s barly abel to say ‘I’ in the language of her father, and although she want’s to and needs to in order to help move on from the truma of her fathers death, she also see’s the language of her father (German) as somthing which as become indecent and uncomfortable. This further shows how she is unable to heal and move on and is still hunted repeately which is also seen with the repition of “ich”.

Question 4

What sound is repeated throughout the poem?

Answer 4

“ooh” sound

Furthermore, Plath’s uses rhyme in a unique way, through the repeated use of the “ooh” sound. The use of this sound is seen right the way thought the poem with words such as “shoe”, “achoo” and “blue”, Plath uses these sounds to create a identical rhythm throughout the poem, displaying and reminding the reader the effect constant torment the image of the speaker’s father has had on the speaker.

Question 5

What’s the quote where the speaker talks about their fathers death. And what Stanza?

Answer 5

“Daddy I want to kill you. You died before I had time”
*Stanza 2

• This is written in the writing style iambic-pentameter which is in the rhythm of a nursery rhyme. This constantly links back to the speakers childhood were the source of the speakers trauma is.
• Shows how despair (or other factor) has trapped the speaker in time, living the same trauma and pain they experienced as a child though out their adult life.

*The speaker doesn’t actually want to murder their father, but in a metaphorical manner they want to kill of the trauma and pain associated to their father.

Question 6

Stanza 1

First line in the poem

Answer 6

“You do not do, you do not do any more, black shoe”…

*Repition of “you do not do” suggests the speakers effort of pushing back (against the suffering and the image of their father) came with concerted effort.

Question 7

Final line in the poem

Answer 7

“Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through”

*Analysis
*This (the final stanza) could be seen as life long victum hood, and weakness, self sabotage. However, we can see it as Plath’s (the speakers) heroic and tragic attempt at confronting past pain in attempt’s to move on from the truma. Mentaly reliving the trumatic process, as an attempt to channel all the pain, suffering, sadness, remorce, into arttistic ceratetion (poetry) as a finaly expression of hope, even though it seems impossible.

• The words “daddy, daddy, you bastard” can be seen as the speaker final anger, as well as suggesting the idea that the speaker having run out of words negative words to describe their father.