A Systematic Investigation of Sylvia Plath’s Poem Daddy Under the Lens of Feministic Stylistic Approach

Abstract

The study aims to examine the language and style of the poem Daddy by Plath within a feministic perspective. Hence, the primary objective of the study is to uncover the patriarchal power structures and gender norms in the context of the poem along with the secondary objective to identify the linguistic devices that Plath has used to represent the other gender in her particular piece of writing. Moreover, Sara Mills (1997) feministic stylistic approach has been applied as the framework of this study. While, the sample of this study has been comprised of a poem Daddy written by a famous Poetess Sylvia Plath and in the selection of this particular sample, the researcher has employed purposive sampling technique. The results revealed the continuous struggle of the speaker in a patriarchal society where all rights and authorities are reserved to men and the both genders try to win over each other in terms of taking the control of their lives. The results also revealed the constant use of linguistic devices to represent the male gender like imagery, metaphors, allusion, enjambment, alliteration and assonance.