Plath's 'Daddy' allows the reader to have a detailed insight into the mind of the persona. The beginning of the poem starts like a nursery rhyme with a rhythm of the repeating assonant sound of 'oo'. The 'black shoe In which I have lived like a foot' links to the children’s rhyme about an old woman who lived in a shoe. Overall, the shoe gives the impression that she is trapped and has no freedom in her life showing the state of oppression over her mind and emotions since her childhood. This understanding is confirmed in the line 'Barely daring to breath or Achoo'.
The persona is clearly displaying that she is deeply disturbed by the memory of her Father. The line 'Daddy, I have had to kill you' strongly displays the decision to eradicate the cloud of his presence over her. Similarly, this desire of eradication is mirrored through the theme of the Holocaust and the German's annihilation of the Jews; 'Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen'. The repeating of the word Jew connects us back to the first verse with the assonant sound of 'oo'. This imagery is extremely controversial as the use of the Holocaust has caused much disagreement. Many critics have condemned her comparison of mass human suffering, torture, death and persecution to that of her own personal suffering.
The persona is a victim that has been ground down for so long by the Father figure that in the lines 'I think I may well be a Jew' and 'With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck' she places herself alongside other victimised groups. Her complete detachment and estrangement from her Father is reflected in the relationship between Jews and Germans, 'I thought every German was you'.
Hughes also uses surprising imagery which is very often aggressive, controlling and dominant. The use of a hawk roosting is an interesting angle used to display the ferocity and cruelty of nature. For example 'I sit at the top of the wood'...'my hooked head and hooked feet' show power and threat through supremacy and rulership. Controversy is shown through the personification of the hawk as God, 'Now I hold Creation in my foot'. This has an air of arrogant self-worth and dominance that the hawk will 'keep things like this'. So while Hughes uses the hawk as a symbol of oppression in nature, Plath uses her Father and the Holocaust as the symbols of oppression in humanity.
Similarly in 'The Bee Meeting' surprising imagery is used to show the threat and malice of human kind and nature as the persona perceives it. We are taken through events as they unfold in the persona's mind and emotions. Nature is seen as turning on the woman whose fragility is heightened through fear. The speaker allows the reader insight into the vulnerability felt throughout the event.
The way the speaker presents her fears and vulnerabilities are through many rhetorical questions. The persona's uncertainty is expressed through the line 'Who are these people at the bridge to meet me?'. This question which echoes without an answer heightens the feeling of aloneness. 'In my sleeveless summery dress I have no protection' this phrase not only gives us an image of an innocent young woman, but also depicts how defenceless she feels in facing people that are 'all gloved and covered'. Similes are used to create impact on the reader 'I am nude as a chicken neck, does nobody love me?' this again shows that there is no one to answer her questions apart from herself.
There are many links to hospitals that may be inferred from this poem. One of which being 'her white shop smock' this replicates the feeling of a doctor ready to give treatment. 'Is it some operation that is taking place?' portrays the clinical relationship she has with the people round her. Another use of imagery which could be classed as surprising is 'slit from my neck to my knees' which emphatically reminds us of a hospital gown and is juxtaposed to the idea of the idyllic countryside.
Controversy is expressed through the imagery that is associated with death. 'a black veil that moulds to my face' can be be closely related to the colour of mourning and a funeral. This idea that is explored half-way through the poem comes into fruition with the conclusion of the persona's journey and simultaneously the end of the poem. 'Whose is that long white box in the grove' alluding to the thought of a coffin, signifying her death.
Similarly 'The Tender Place' uses surprising imagery that will have a strong impact on the reader. The hyperbole of 'it exploded Like a grenade.' makes the reader feel the destructive force of the treatment. 'They crashed the thunderbolt into your skull.' creates a deep impact of the extraordinary brutality of a medical care. Controversy is explored through the line 'To see how you were, in your straps. Whether your teeth were still whole'. This shows the doctors are checking her frame for damage whilst caring nothing for the her well being.
Interestingly, it is Hughes who takes the standpoint of declaring the cruelty of humanity and Plath who declares the cruelty of nature. This is a reversal of stance for both poets. They are both extraordinarily talented in their craft and create raw and powerful pieces. Therefore, it can be said that although Plath and Hughes are different in approach they share the same intention which is to portray cruelty shown through human kind and nature.
by
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