The Tyranny of Memory: A Critical Appreciation of Sylvia Plath's "Daddy"

"Daddy," one of Sylvia Plath's most celebrated poems, is a cornerstone of her legacy. Written in October 1962 and published posthumously in Ariel (1963), the poem represents a climactic moment in Plath's life, penned during the turbulent period following her separation from her husband, Ted Hughes. At this point, Plath had already endured the profound loss of her father and was grappling with loneliness and dissatisfaction, which coloured much of her work.

In Daddy, Plath confronts her complex and obsessive fixation on her father, Otto Plath. His death in 1940, when she was just eight years old, left an indelible mark, shaping her lifelong preoccupation with themes of loss and mortality. Otto Plath, a German-born biologist and professor of German at Boston University, becomes a recurring figure in her poetry—part deity, part tyrant. The relationship is fraught with reverence and resentment, encapsulated vividly in this poem.

The speaker opens with visceral imagery, likening her father to a "black shoe" in which she has "lived like a foot" for thirty years—oppressed, suffocated, and fearful. The first four stanzas articulate this complex dynamic:

“You do not do, you do not do Any more, black shoe In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.”

The speaker’s fear of her father is palpable, as she confesses she dared not even breathe in his presence. The metaphor of the "black shoe" establishes the oppressive and confining nature of her father’s memory, which has loomed over her life.

Plath also explores the alienation she felt as a child in her relationship with her father. His German heritage and language become symbolic of a barrier between them. She recalls his hometown, a Polish town ravaged by "wars, wars, wars," yet remains unable to pinpoint it, adding to her sense of disconnection. Her inability to comprehend his language exacerbates this alienation, as depicted in the following lines:

“I never could talk to you The tongue stuck in my jaw It stuck in a barb wire snare Ich, ich, ich, ich I could hardly speak I thought every German was you And the language obscene.”

In the latter stanzas, Plath escalates her portrayal of her father into a figure of fascist authority, drawing parallels to Nazi brutality. These comparisons are deliberately provocative, blending her personal anguish with broader historical atrocities. The poem merges her father's memory with societal themes of oppression and tyranny. For the speaker, her father’s authoritarian presence becomes inextricably linked to broader political and cultural forces of subjugation.

Despite its unsettling content, the poem achieves its power through technical mastery. Plath employs nursery rhyme rhythms to juxtapose innocence with horror, creating a chilling contrast. The repetition of rhymes such as “you” and “through” intensifies the poem’s incantatory, almost hypnotic quality. The structure—sixteen five-line stanzas—maintains a controlled formality, underscoring the speaker's volatile emotions as they erupt in the poem’s final lines:

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

This triumphant, cathartic conclusion symbolizes the speaker's psychological emancipation from her father's oppressive legacy. Plath’s use of sound amplifies the poem’s emotional force, with syllables exploding in articulation to mirror the speaker’s intensity. Broken syntax, repetition, and the inclusion of German terms further enrich the tonal complexity, oscillating between vulnerability and rage.

Plath’s symbolic language deepens the poem’s resonance. The colour black becomes a recurring motif, representing tyranny and despair. The "black shoe" and other dark imagery underscore how the memory of her father blocks out truth, warmth, and hope. The telephone, another potent symbol, reflects the speaker’s futile attempts to connect with her father. Its being "off at the root" suggests a severed line of communication, emblematic of the chasm between them.

Ultimately, Daddy is a masterwork that intertwines Plath’s personal anguish with universal themes of loss, oppression, and rebellion. Its graphic imagery and raw emotionality may unsettle readers, but its brilliance lies in its ability to evoke such strong reactions. The poem exemplifies Plath’s unparalleled ability to transform personal trauma into a work of harrowing beauty and artistic power.