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Daddy

by Sylvia PlathPrescribed for HSC English 2024–2027 (NESA) · Last reviewed Daddy is a confessional poem by American poet Sylvia Plath, written in October 1962 and published posthumously in Ariel (1965). In it, Plath confronts the memory of her father Otto and her marriage to Ted Hughes. For the HSC, it is studied in English Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations.

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Summary

Daddy is a confessional poem by American poet Sylvia Plath, written in October 1962 and published posthumously in Ariel (1965). In it, Plath confronts the memory of her father Otto and her marriage to Ted Hughes. For the HSC, it is studied in English Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations.

Context

Key ideas in this poem are the inescapable oppressiveness of the patriarchy, the internalisation of gender stereotypes and their destructive effects and the potential for self-realisation as well as its limitations and consequences.

It can be paired with the Hughes poems The Shot, The Bee God or A Picture of Otto.

Throughout Daddy, Plath reflects on her toxic relationship with her father, and how the weight of his memory led to her seeking a similarly abusive relationship with her husband, Ted Hughes.

The poem opens with Plath recalling how her father, Otto, intimidated her and made her feel as if she was a Jew being persecuted by the Nazis – she came to internalise her victimhood (‘I began to talk like a Jew. / I think I may well be a Jew.’), which in turn led her to view all men as oppressive.

Plath continues to rage against the power her father exerted over her, invoking more Nazi imagery (‘With your Luftwaffe,’ ‘Not God but a swastika’) as she conveys how that oppression destroyed her (‘Bit my pretty red heart in two.’) Though Plath makes it clear that her father was evil – she even suggests he was the devil incarnate – she continues to say that following his death, she sought a similar relationship with her husband, Hughes. Hughes filled the hole left by Otto’s passing, and continued torturing her (‘A man in black with a Meinkampf look / And a love of the rack and the screw.’) By marrying Hughes, Plath was able to finally move on from her father and find closure in the abuse perpetrated by another man – ‘Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.’

Throughout the poem, Plath reflects the victim mentality that she developed as a result of being violently forced into the confines of domesticity, which was designed by men to ensure the continuation of the patriarchy, and which she famously resented.

Quote Table

  • ‘The boot in the face, the brute / Brute heart of a brute like you.’

    Technique
    Imagery, Allusion
    Idea
    Trauma from father

  • ‘And your neat mustache / And your Aryan eye, bright blue.’

    Technique
    Anaphora, Allusion
    Idea
    Trauma of father

  • ‘I began to talk like a Jew. / I think I may well be a Jew.’

    Technique
    Epistrophe
    Idea
    Trauma of father

  • ‘Ich, ich, ich, ich, / I could hardly speak.’

    Technique
    Repetition
    Idea
    Impact of father

  • ‘It stuck in a barb wire snare’

    Technique
    Metaphor, Allusion
    Idea
    Experience of relationship

  • ‘I used to pray to recover you. / Ach, du.’

    Technique
    Allusion
    Idea
    Extent of trauma

  • ‘Daddy, I have had to kill you. / You died before I had time -’

    Technique
    Metaphor
    Idea
    Trauma Importance of her father

  • ‘You do not do, you do not do / Any more, black shoe / In which I have lived like a foot’

    Technique
    Repetition, Allusion, Simile
    Idea
    Trauma of her father, Impact of that trauma

More Plath and Hughes poetry

Plath and Hughes - Visual Aid

Visual aidPlath and Hughes
Themes

Memory, truth, mythopoesis, gender, social accountability, faith, feminism, mental health

Context
  • Plath's Ariel collection was published post-humously after her death
  • Hughes' The Birthday Letters responds to his involvement in her death
  • Hughes utilises techniques characteristic of Plath's collection to tell a new story, or an old one from his perspective.
Poetry Pairings
Mythopoesis Quotes
  • 'I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air.'
  • "O my enemy. / Do I terrify?"
  • 'Our room was red. A judgement chamber. / Shut casket for gems.'
  • "You revelled in red. / I felt it raw"

Frequently Asked Questions

Which module is Daddy studied in for the HSC?
Daddy is studied in HSC English Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations, as part of the Plath and Hughes pairing.
Who wrote Daddy and when?
Daddy was written by American poet Sylvia Plath in October 1962 and appeared in her posthumous collection Ariel in 1965.
What is Daddy about?
The poem confronts Plath's relationship with her father Otto and her husband Ted Hughes, exploring the oppressiveness of the patriarchy, internalised gender stereotypes and the struggle for self-realisation.
Which Ted Hughes poems pair with Daddy?
Daddy pairs well with Hughes's The Shot, The Bee God or A Picture of Otto, which respond to the same relationships from Hughes's perspective.
What should students focus on when studying Daddy?
Focus on the Nazi and devil imagery, the direct address to the father, and the closing declaration "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through."

Same module

More Module A texts

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