LITR 5731: Seminar in American Minority Literature
University of Houston-Clear Lake, spring 2003
Poetry Presentation Summary

Poetry Reading by Jane Ftacnik

“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was married to a poet who had a great influence on her life.  However her husband was promiscuous, which contributed to her many attempts to suicide before actually killing herself.  Her poems are said to have a lot of anger in them and the theme in many of her poems are rage or death.  Most of her poems are described as witty and disturbing.

(Reading of the poem)

White – the poem was well read

Jane – question – how can Plaths voice be characterized?

• Is it child like
• Successfully manipulated
• A feminist voice

Alcira – powerful voice, political voice

• If you know her past you can sense anger, sadness
• Not a cop out
• She denounces her dad
• Seeks security, but takes courage to write

White- fresh

• Lived again
• Intensity of style

Alcira – agrees with Dr. White

White – never heard that many rhythms

Alcira – imagery illusions 

White – inner voice heard

• Nice speaking voice
• Sounds like, electric about voice

Thana- something demanding about voice, tremendous black, describes individuals, maybe a cover for pathetic and pretentious father

Dr. White – black becomes metaphysical, gothic demeanor, black and white color scheme/good and evil

Jana – describes objects

Thana- white describes father, black describes the negative things

Guy- black = negative, had a love hate relationship with father

Jana – speculation on dad and Sylvia relationship

Dr. White – father was German

Jana – she (Sylvia) began to speak provocative

Dr. White – how mad does she want to make her father

Jana – I like the ich, ich, ich, interpretation

Dr. White – how does voice come out?, any desire to hear story, how does women voice come out?

Jana – physically, difference in man/women voice, women are told to be independent but society says to be different

Dr. White – how to get on voice objective

Jane – describes objective 1b, how voice expressed

Jennifer – this was written in 1962?, war was over (WWII), fascist stereotype, author brings up a lot about war

Dr. White – one thing powerful feelings about the war repressed, but she gets it out there, she brings it back out

Elizabeth – children’s view

Jana – Ted and Sylvia, protest, information on google

Dr. White – Cannot read Sylvia Plath poem without talking about her

Jana – Suicide more because she is a lady, she is a mother

Dr. White  - a lot of people taking sides, when poems released before her husbands death, to much emphases on Sylvia’s suicide