Mod A Essay

Question 1

Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence:

Answer 1

In ‘Daddy’, Plath asserts the importance of freedom by attempting to liberate herself from oppressive male influences who expect women to adhere to traditional roles as wives and daughters.

Question 2

Paragraph 1 Context:

Answer 2

The death of Plath’s father in 1940, when Plath was just eight years old scarred her with feelings of grief for the remainder of her life.

Question 3

Paragraph 1, 1st Quote:

Answer 3

“black shoe/ In which I have lived like a foot

Question 4

Paragraph 1, 2nd Quote:

Answer 4

I may be a Bit of a Jew/ I have always been scared of you”

Question 5

Paragraph 1, 3rd Quote:

Answer 5

“I made a model of you / A man in black with a Meinkampf look”

Question 6

Paragraph 1, 4th Quote:

Answer 6

“Daddy, daddy, you bastard I’m through”

Question 7

Paragraph 2 Topic Sentence:

Answer 7

Whilst Hughes acknowledges the pain and isolation Plath endured due to the loss of her father, he reframes this perspective in ‘The Shot,’ suggesting that Plath’s obsessive personality was the predominant cause of their unsuccessful marriage and her eventual demise.

Question 8

Paragraph 2 Context:

Answer 8

Hughes foregrounds his personal opinions in Birthday Letters to address the public backlash which held him accountable for Plath’s suicide in 1963.

Question 9

Paragraph 2, 1st Quote:

Answer 9

“Your Daddy had been aiming you at God/ When his death touched the trigger.”

Question 10

Paragraph 2, 2nd Quote:

Answer 10

“the vampire who said he was you/ and drank my blood.”

Question 11

Paragraph 2, 3rd Quote:

Answer 11

“The elect/ More or less died on impact,”

Question 12

Paragraph 2, 4th Quote:

Answer 12

“did not even know / I had been hit… bury yourself at last”

Question 13

Paragraph 3 Topic Sentence:

Answer 13

In ‘A Birthday Present’, Plath presents the issue that her desire for self-destruction is a consequence of her aspirations to escape the societal values associated with domesticity for women in her contextual milieu.

Question 14

Paragraph 3 Context:

Answer 14

Plath wrote ‘A Birthday Present’ in 1962, after she and Hughes separated where she contemplates the expectations of her patriarchal 1960s society, described by Betty Friedan as “a comfortable concentration camp.”

Question 15

Paragraph 3, 1st Quote:

Answer 15

“Measuring the flour… Adhering to rules, to rules, to rules,”

Question 16

Paragraph 3, 2nd Quote:

Answer 16

“Bones…Pearl buttons… Diaphanous Satins…White as babies…O Ivory,”

Question 17

Paragraph 3, 3rd Quote:

Answer 17

“The veils were killing my days…Sweetly, sweetly I breathe in…Tick the years off my life”

Question 18

Paragraph 3, 4th Quote:

Answer 18

“Pure and clean as the cry from a baby/ And the universe slide from my side,”

Question 19

Paragraph 4 Topic Sentence:

Answer 19

Contrastingly, in ‘Red’, Hughes reframes Plath’s argument by portraying domesticity as a gift that encompasses new life and hope, suggesting Plath’s self-destructive actions and duality was the cause of her death.

Question 20

Paragraph 4 Context:

Answer 20

‘Red’ is the final poem in ‘Birthday Letters’ and expresses Hughes’ recognition of Plath’s duality and his sense of remorse as a result of her suicide.

Question 21

Paragraph 4, 1st Quote:

Answer 21

Red was [Plath’s] colour, if not red, then white,”

Question 22

Paragraph 4, 2nd Quote:

Answer 22

“O Ivory! Can you not give it to me?”

Question 23

Paragraph 4, 3rd Quote:

Answer 23

“Was it red-ochre, for warming the dead … the precious heirloom bones”

Question 24

Paragraph 4, 4th Quote:

Answer 24

“everything…you painted white / Then splashed it with roses, defeated it,”

Question 25

Paragraph 4, 5th Quote:

Answer 25

“Blue was better for you… Folded your pregnancy … your kindly spirit”

Question 26

“black shoe/In which I have lived like a foot”

Answer 26

This contextual influence is showcased in the simile: “black shoe/In which I have lived like a foot” alluding to her ongoing feelings of confinement in the role of an obedient daughter attempting to fulfil her father’s expectations.

Question 27

“I may be a Bit of a Jew/ I have always been scared of you”

Answer 27

This experience results in a sense of abandonment for the speaker, as depicted through the metaphor “I may be a Bit of a Jew/ I have always been scared of you” where the characterisation of herself as a victim of her German father portrays her increasing sense of alienation from society.

Question 28

“I made a model of you / A man in black with a Meinkampf look”

Answer 28

This leaves Plath searching for reconnection to a father-like figure through her relationship with Hughes, illustrated in the metaphor: “I made a model of you / A man in black with a Meinkampf look” depicting the similarities between Hughes and Otto as figures of oppression in her life.

Question 29

“Daddy, daddy, you bastard I’m through”

Answer 29

Finally, the speaker’s epiphany at the end of the poem “Daddy, daddy, you bastard I’m through” signifies her liberation from oppressive male figures in her life, thus, allowing the persona to reclaim her freedom.

Question 30

“Your Daddy had been aiming you at God/ When his death touched the trigger.”

Answer 30

In response to these accusations, Hughes argues that the death of her father set Plath on an obsessive path to self-destruction, through the metaphor: “Your Daddy had been aiming you at God/ When his death touched the trigger.”

Question 31

“the vampire who said he was you/ and drank my blood.”

Answer 31

This directly reframes Plath’s perspective in ‘Daddy’, where Hughes is portrayed to exert the same oppressive control over her as her father as depicted in the vampiric imagery, “the vampire who said he was you/ and drank my blood.”

Question 32

“The elect/ More or less died on impact,”

Answer 32

The consequences of this obsession Plath had with her father are conveyed through the irony: “The elect/ More or less died on impact,” illustrating how the men she dated could not live up to the unrealistic standards she associated with her father and thus were unable to form meaningful relationships with her.

Question 33

“did not even know / I had been hit… bury yourself at last”

Answer 33

Hence, Hughes argues he was unable to prohibit Plath’s obsessive personality from causing the collapse of their relationship and her eventual self-destruction through the sincere tone, “did not even know / I had been hit… bury yourself at last” positioning himself as an innocent bystander.

Question 34

“Measuring the flour… Adhering to rules, to rules, to rules,”

Answer 34

The speaker initially reflects on this contextual in the domestic imagery: “Measuring the flour… Adhering to rules, to rules, to rules,” where repetition is used to mock social conventions confining women to a regime of domesticity.

Question 35

“Bones…Pearl buttons… Diaphanous Satins…White as babies…O Ivory,”

Answer 35

This exposure to social oppression and stereotypical domestic duties results in a fascination with death as evident in the juxtaposition of death with: “Bones…Pearl buttons… Diaphanous Satins…White as babies…O Ivory,” which are symbols of purity and cleansing.

Question 36

“The veils were killing my days…Sweetly, sweetly I breathe in…Tick the years off my life”

Answer 36

Furthermore, the speaker’s attraction to veils, a motif of the getaway to death: “The veils were killing my days…Sweetly, sweetly I breathe in…Tick the years off my life”, metaphorically symbolises death as a tool to free her from the domestic life which has suffocated her.

Question 37

“Pure and clean as the cry from a baby/ And the universe slide from my side,”

Answer 37

Therefore, the metaphor “Pure and clean as the cry from a baby/ And the universe slide from my side,” illuminates the speaker’s perspective that suicide will provide a new beginning, ultimately freeing her from the confines of domesticity.

Question 38

“Red was [Plath’s] colour, if not red, then white,”

“O Ivory! Can you not give it to me?”

Answer 38

Hughes acknowledges the two-faced nature of Plath’s personality when he initially states “Red was [Plath’s] colour, if not red, then white,” with red symbolically characterising Plath’s volatile behaviour and white resonating with her confessed desperation to gain autonomy through death as exhibited in a ‘Birthday Present’ – “O Ivory! Can you not give it to me?”

Question 39

“Was it red-ochre, for warming the dead … the precious heirloom bones”

Answer 39

Moreover, the rhetorical question “Was it red-ochre, for warming the dead … the precious heirloom bones” furthers the motif of red, representing how her morbid obsession with her father and death caused her suffering.

Question 40

“everything…you painted white / Then splashed it with roses, defeated it,”

Answer 40

The overpowering nature of this obsession is conveyed in the metaphor: “everything…you painted white / Then splashed it with roses, defeated it,” depicting how death tainted all aspects of Plath’s life, becoming a continual mental burden on her.

Question 41

“Blue was better for you… Folded your pregnancy … your kindly spirit”

Answer 41

However, at the end of the poem, Hughes’ tone changes as he uses Plath’s duality to express beauties that resided within her and in domesticity: “Blue was better for you… Folded your pregnancy … your kindly spirit” where the juxtaposition of blue, a symbol of hope and peace, with red, depicts how Plath’s obsessive character robbed her peaceful domestic role in society.