“Mirror” by Sylvia Plath is a poem narrated from the perspective of a mirror. Within this poem‚ there is a clash between truth and perception. This idea is first presented through the form of the stanzas where the mirror is “silver and exact” (Plath 1) then when the mirror is “now [...] a lake” (10). The poem then illustrates how even the truthful mirror has preconceptions. Then finally how the woman‚ who comes every morning to look in the mirror often deludes herself with “those liars‚ the candles
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Poppies in July - Sylvia Plath “Poppies in July” is a short poem written in free verse. Its fifteen lines are divided into eight stanzas. The first seven stanzas are couplets‚ and the eighth consists of a single line. The title presents an image of natural life at its most intense—at the height of summer. It evokes a pastoral landscape and suggests happiness‚ if not joy or passion. The title is ironic‚ however‚ because the poem is not a hymn to nature but a hallucinatory projection of the landscape
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Sylvia Plath’s poem "Daddy" portrays her love and hate relationship with her own father. At first glance‚ the poem almost spits vivid words of rage and hate toward her father; but even on the second reading the very structure of the poem‚ as well as a few word choices betray the love she feels for him. This creates a warring duality and she herself the views this unresolved relationship as the root of her misery. The very title of the poem Daddy contradicts the face value of the poem as a whole
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According to Vladimir Nabokov‚ in an essay entitled “Good Readers and Good Writers‚” there are specific traits that make up a good writer. One looking to be a great writer should be “considered as a storyteller‚ as a teacher‚ and as an enchanter” (1007). Sylvia Plath is a good writer‚ because she meets each of his expectations. Nabokov was primarily educated at the prestigious Trinity College‚ Cambridge. He lectured and taught at Stanford University‚ Wellesley College‚ and Cornell University‚ all also very
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Sylvia Plath wrote the poem “Daddy” in 1962‚ but it wasn’t published until years after her death. When her father died when she was just eight years old‚ she had a very hard time dealing with her emotions. Due to her inability to cope with her father’s death‚ Plath soon began to suffer from chronic depression‚ leading to issues with men‚ and theoretically taking on what is known as a “father complex.” Her depression‚ starting at a young age‚ led her to attempting suicide multiple times until her
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Sylvia Plath was one of the most self-motivated and well-regarded poets of the 20th century. She was an American poet‚ novelist‚ and short story write. Plath was born in Boston and studied at the University of Cambridge before receiving approval as a poet and writer. By the time‚ she took her life at the age of 30‚ Plath was already known in the literary community. In the following years‚ her work attracted the attention of many readers‚ who saw in her singular verse an attempt to catalogue despair
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Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘Daddy’ expresses the struggle for female identity by basing it around the Holocaust‚ one of the most gruesome‚ immoral events in the whole of history. Plath uses this event as a metaphor for her struggles in life‚ and the struggles of women in general for independence. The male figure used in this poem is in the shape of Hitler‚ a man of unfathomable evil. In this poem‚ ‘Daddy’ is seen as a Hitler figure during the metaphor of the Holocaust. He is seen as oppressing the female
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“And the language obscene / An engine‚ and engine / Chuffing me off like a Jew” (lines 30-32)This quote depicts the relationship that Plath had with her father. In Daddy‚ Plath depicts herself as a victim‚ as she compares herself to a Jew and her father as a Nazi. She uses this train metaphor to depict herself as a victimized Jew who is being taken away to a concentration camp. Plath uses allusions to describe her father as Hitler‚ as it is written “And your neat moustache / And your Aryan eyes
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In the short story‚ “Initiation”‚ Sylvia Plath utilizes Millicent and the sorority girls to imply the theme that conformity for popularity is not better than being one’s own self. Following Millicent through the hazing period or ‘initiation’ of a sorority-like high school social group‚ the reader witnesses Plath’s changing of the character. In the beginning of the story‚ Plath describes the protagonist in the basement of a house‚ detailing how it felt “dark and warm‚ like the inside of a sealed jar”(1)
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Problems with men start at a young age for most women. Daddy issues is a perfect explanation for the piece “Daddy” written by Sylvia Plath. The complications that occurred early in Plath’s life then occurred in Plath’s love life. After doing some research on Plath‚ it was apparent that a continuing theme in her life was issues with men. To fully understand this piece I had to do some research on Plath. After researching‚ I was able to dig deeper into her life and what this poem meant to her. This
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