Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy," emphasizes the ill-fated relationship between a woman and her deceased father. The poet conveys her paradoxical feelings for the one man who she worshipped during her young years, but feared his malicious influence and domination after his death. Throughout the poem, Plath uses German inferences and simplistic language in order to escape the oppression of her father, but preserve the idealistic mirror of him. .
The poem begins with an almost childlike tone, misleading the reader on the upcoming subject matter. The first line echoes a nursery rhyme, feeling like a charm against some brooding curse: "You do not do, you do not do/ anymore black shoe" (lines 1-2). Metaphorically, the shoe is a trap, smothering the foot. The adjective "black" suggests the idea of death, thus it can relate to a coffin. The speaker feels a submissiveness and entrapment by her father. In an attempt to rid herself of the restriction in her own life, she must destroy the memory of her father. "Daddy, I have to kill you" (line 3). However, the description of the father as "marble-heavy" and "ghastly statue" reveals the ambivalence of her attitude. The speaker reacts with hate to her father who had made her suffer by dying at such a point in her development, but she is still affectionate towards him. .
The tone becomes more realistic and is composed of less admiration for the father in the next few stanzas. There is an indication of WW2 in relation to the holocaust as the speaker states "In the German tongue, in the polish town/ of wars, wars, wars "(line 16-18). This line introduces the German inferences in the poem, providing the reader a background of her father. The mention of the holocaust prepares the reader for the Nazis, which metaphorically identifies male domination. However, the simplistic repetition of "wars, wars, wars" still shows the juvenile tone of the speaker.
