Sylvia Plath Reads 'Daddy'

killianRZ Says:

Dec 18, 2008 - One more thing: I am not calling Sylvia Plath racist. Just the poem. She had many problems, but I don't think racism was one of them. She herself called this poem an "awful little allegory". A much truer and complex look at the troubled father/daughter relationship can be found in "The Colossus". Finally, I know my opinions are somewhat unconventional; again, I appreciate those critics who have a point.

Eliaszov Says:

Dec 18, 2008 - ich bin, ich war der pianiste!

Alana4687 Says:

Dec 18, 2008 - On the comments that this is a racist poem: I feel it's not. In my view, Sylvia was positing her father as a Nazi and herself as a Jew to show the magnitude of their conflict. The coinflict, the perception is a reality- but the racism? Not literally implied here.

schweizer2731 Says:

Dec 19, 2008 - oh my god. i have goosebumps. definitely one of the greatest poets of our times.

DorkFishOK Says:

Dec 20, 2008 - I just wish people would not analyze like that. It bothers me because there is always something in a poem that you can't catch in an analysis. And it's like dissecting and splitting open a poem until it's stone dead... it's like shushing a person when they seem to have more to say... and that is why I hate rational explanations because they always leave things unsaid and sterilized...

captaincrabula Says:

Dec 24, 2008 - In a reading prepared for BBC radio, Plath said of this poem: 'Here is a poem spoken by a girl with an Electra complex. Her father died while she thought he was a God. Her case is complicated by the fact that her father was also a Nazi and her mother very possibly part Jewish. In the daughter the two strains marry and paralyse each other- she has to act out the awful little allegory once over before she is free of it.'

saucyscorpio19 Says:

Dec 24, 2008 - was her father actually a nazi? Because i remember reading somewhere that she just always compared her father to hitler.

rphil68 Says:

Dec 25, 2008 - This is quite fabulous; she excites and terrifies in equal measure.

banksiasong Says:

Dec 26, 2008 - must be difficult being paranoid and delusional. [ducks for cover]

banksiasong Says:

Dec 26, 2008 - i have been enjoying Plath's poetry and prose since 1982. this is brilliant to hear a quality recording of her most well known work.

echoed61 Says:

Dec 26, 2008 - Excellent. Who made the video?

nickowen2 Says:

Dec 27, 2008 - great to hear this by the writer herself thanks for sharing

xiasweetcjy182 Says:

Dec 29, 2008 - no clue, but yea, the video is awesome, the flashing images, fantastic transitional images, overlaps, great.

janicesoprano Says:

Dec 30, 2008 - What a treasure and how wonderful to hear her voice. Alas, silenced by a gas oven. Thank you for posting this.

lorenzaadf Says:

Dec 30, 2008 - i read this in mah creative writin class &nd learned about her.

toppentjejen Says:

Jan 1, 2009 - marvellous. one poet says to another

exotickinkyAlison10 Says:

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daisyplants Says:

Jan 3, 2009 - I don't know, I was kind of disappointed by her voice. It's such a great poem but her voice is more monotonous and whiny than I'd imagined.

Sam270598 Says:

Jan 3, 2009 - If she didnt say ba**ard at the end that poem would be the nicest thing i have ever heard R.I.P Sylvia Plath

myblueskeleton Says:

Jan 4, 2009 - Sylvia is amazing.

killianRZ Says:

Jan 4, 2009 - I don't think the reading is monotonous. (It is a mistake to be too dramatic when reading poetry. The words should speak for themselves.) Actually, I feel a lot of emotion from Sylvia in this reading (and all her readings for that matter). As for being whiny, well, she was definately a big complainer, although she was excellent poet.

0straw0 Says:

Jan 5, 2009 - I don't think that word at the end spoils it at all, it's a stunning finish.

captaincrabula Says:

Jan 6, 2009 - i don't believe so. from the bits i've read here and there, it seems she was just drawing from her own life for this narrative. plath was born in Massachusetts in 1932 and her father was a professor of zoology and German at Boston University..

readingsorcerer Says:

Jan 7, 2009 - Yes, yes she is talking about her dad BUT she is also talking about her husband Ted Hughes. Take this line for example: "I made a modle of you, A man in black with a Meinkampf look And a love of the rackand the screw. And I said I do, I do."

Barbnovac Says:

Jan 7, 2009 - She is so brilliant. This poem is chilling. She's ten times the poet Ted Hughes was! Marvellous. Thanks so much for posting.