Obviously, our parents are a huge part of who we are. Sylvia Plath lost her father when she was only eight years old, but what an impactful eight years they must have been.
As we take a closer look at Plath during this week of National Poetry Month, we review her elegaic, infamous poem titled “Daddy.”
Though there are a plethora of images associated with darkness and the color black employed throughout the poem, what is most striking are the number of Nazi-related terms Plath uses to describe her father and identify how he made her feel (she also makes reference to devil’s hoofs and a vampire, e.g. “…drank my blood for a year” and “There’s a stake in your fat, black heart”). She goes so far as to characterize “Daddy” as a Nazi himself, leading a reader to believe that the poet’s own father was domineering, frightening, and evil.
What stands out most of all, however, is the fury in the poet’s voice, the emotional chaos she is experiencing in this poem.
A stanza of “Daddy”:
I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat moustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You —
These are all images of World War II – “neat mustache” making one think of Hitler’s very identifiable facial hair; “Luftwaffe” and “panzer-man” implying that her father was like the much-feared armored military tanks.
“Daddy” is a dark, chilling poem… but it provides great insight into just how troubled a mind Plath was living with.
Read the entire poem on Poets.org and listen to Plath herself read “Daddy” in this video:
Novel Novice 
This is my favorite Plath poem! I remember reading it in undergrad and my prof asking us to write a reaction paper to it. I told her that I cracked up and the end and she said, “Uhm, probably not the reaction Plath was going for, but OK.” Talk about kick-ass. Love it!
Also, I believe Plath’s mother’s family had some Jewish ancestry which also helps explain the Nazi references. Thanks for doing this, Libby. Great work!